Son of the Lion
by dragoscilvio
Summary: A forgotten past is rediscovered, and the crew finds out more about their crew mate than even he ever knew. After landing on an island, Zoro finds himself experiencing headaches accompanied by visions of places he has never seen before. What is this place? Why does he feel like he knows it? And can he find the answer to the mystery that has plagued him since he was child...
1. It begins

**Hello everyone, My name is Dragoscilvio, Drago for short.**

**Some of you may know me from my One Piece Drabble "Tears of a Swordsman", but I decided to write an honest to goodness story that won't get sucked into my drabble. **

**It is a tad different, but I remember someone making a story like this, and it just stuck with me. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer, I do not own anything that has to do with One Piece or its Characters.**

He had been having headaches since they arrived.

Zoro sighed, rubbing his temples with strong hands, desperately trying to make this latest migraine get up and leave, but to no avail. He couldn't quite place it yet, but something about this new island seemed…familiar. Ever since they docked, and the swordsman had been walking around town he kept getting strange flashes, buildings that his subconscious told him weren't supposed to be there, only to supply images of what apparently should have been in its place. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Zoro was about to go crazy from the stares people were giving him.

Every once in a while, he would get that prickly feeling that someone was watching him, only to turn and see people whirling away acting as if they had not been caught doing that exact thing. The green haired man sighed as he shot another glare at overly inquisitive villagers only to direct a pout back to the street he was walking down.

"Man," Sanji hissed quietly gnawing on his cigarette "is it just me, or are the people here giving us weird looks?"

Zoro snorted, unwilling to admit his agreement with the cook "What curly brow, still not used to the fact that we're pirates wanted by the government? Of course people are gonna look."

Sanji gave his rival a withering glare before rolling his eyes "Come on moss head, you know what I mean, because I know you've noticed too."

The swordsman let out a soft growl before huffing his reply "Fine, so we're getting weirder looks than usual, but it doesn't matter because we're going to be off this island within the next few days anyway."

The cook nodded, shrugging the nagging feeling in the back of his head away, begrudgingly convincing himself that he was probably just being paranoid "You're right."

Suddenly a tanned and calloused hand slapped itself on the blonds' forehead making Sanji jump with a somewhat undignified yelp "Jeez, moss for brains," the cook snarled swatting the hand away and pinning Zoro with a death glare "what was _that _for?"

"I was just checking to make sure you didn't have a fever," Zoro blinked innocently "you agreed with me, and even said that I was right…out loud…that's even creepier than the stares."

Sanji smirked as he gave an amused snort "Whatever you say moss ball," he chuckled as he continued walking shaking his head from side to side.

Zoro grinned and folded his hands behind his head "So what was it that the sea witch wanted us to do?"

Sanji sent a warning look at the swordsman for his nickname that he had given the navigator, only to receive a petulant grin "Nami-swan wants us to shop for supplies," the cook sighed letting the bait drop "and then we're going to meet back at the ship."

"Right," the swordsman nodded "where to first?"

"I vote the meat market," Sanji sighed heavily thinking of their captain's outrageous appetite "because heaven knows that Luffy will be ticked if we don't get tons of meat, and whatever money we have leftover we can use for other groceries, we can finish stocking up tomorrow if we don't get everything."

"Okeydokey," Zoro yawned.

The duo turned a corner, and were soon well on their way to the meat market when something strange happened.

Zoro looked up, the bright sun stinging his eyes, and he saw the spires and rooftops of the city arcing into the sky. But suddenly the light changed and the horizon went dark, and Zoro saw not the afternoon sun, but the rooftops were covered in fire as the building burned sending sparks into the thick smoke while the sounds of screams ripped through the night air. Images flashed in front of his vision, of crumbling buildings, scared and running people, and a woman crying as he was carried away.

The swordsman felt his breath speed up as the images poured into his brain at an incomprehensible speed, making the man grunt in pain even as he struggled to process the pictures, and his migraine increased causing explosions of tiny stars to burst behind his eyelids. Dizziness slapped his senses askew, and Zoro vaguely noted that he had fallen against the wall of a building, sliding down to curl up on the cobblestone street his hands gripping his hair as his shoulders heaved with the labored breaths he was struggling to pull into his suffering lungs.

Finally the strange images melted away in a sea of fog, and the man could hear the voice of the cook yelling his name. Zoro looked up, the face of the blond fuzzy and vague, and the man's voice sounded like it was yelling deep under water "S-Sanji?"

"Come on, moss head," Sanji's shouting finally came back into full clarity as the cook grabbed Zoro's muscle bound arms and gave them a firm shake "you need to breathe,"

A painful throb behind his eyeballs caused Zoro to give another harsh wince, his face scrunched against the harsh light of the sun as he looked around in confusion as he realized that the buildings were not burning nor were there any more sounds of fearful shrieks, finally he was able to lift his hand and wave showing Sanji that he had heard "I'm fine,"

"Pfft," the cook scoffed "oh yeah, you're just the _picture_ of health."

Zoro growled at the man and attempted to stand up, only to sway dangerously once on his feet. Sanji dove forward, catching him before he face planted, and gave his rival a worried glance "You ok?"

The swordsman smirked, before straightening up and walking a few steps away, one hand trailing along the wall "You must be getting soft if you're worrying about me, princess,"

"Hey, I'm not the one who freaked out, and fell flat on his butt in the middle of the street," Sanji growled impatiently "what _was_ that anyway?"

Zoro sighed, one hand rubbing his aching temples before answering "It's nothing, just a migraine."

"Must have been a bad migraine," Sanji glared at him, not entirely convinced that it was as innocent as the man claimed it to be, but any further interrogation was cut short by a sudden shout.

"Hey!" a soldier dressed in the uniform of the island's royal guard yelled "Hey you, who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Uh?" Zoro supplied sending a questioning glance to the blond before turning back to the soldier "Sightseeing?"

"Why's your hair green?" the soldier pressed his face a sullen cloud of suspicion.

"None of your business," Zoro snapped back "and why should you care about what color my hair is?"

"He claims it's his natural hair color, but we all have our suspicions," Sanji snickered, shrugging innocently with an impish grin when the swordsman glared at him for his statement.

"Just answer the question!" was their only reply.

"Not before you answer mine," Zoro bellowed back.

"Fine then," the soldier huffed "I will just have to hold you under arrest until I find out for myself just who you are and where you come from."

"Uh," Sanji snorted with an incredulous smirk.

"No thanks," Zoro finished.

Like lightening, the duo were off and running, dodging between the hundreds of people shopping within the open air market "You and your stupid moss head," Sanji bit without any real heat behind his words.

"Hey, it's not like I ask to run into weirdos," Zoro snarled back "you have to admit that we attract them like the plague."

Sanji threw his head back and sent a loud guffaw to the sky "Yeah, that's one way of putting it."

"At any rate," the blond continued sending an impatient look over his shoulder "let's lose this guy and get back to shopping, I don't want to make Nami-swan angry by coming back empty handed."

Zoro smirked "You are so whipped,"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

…

Not far from where the two Straw Hats had been shopping, a large and imposing castle stood, while a red flag decorated by a black snake fluttered in the breeze over the main entrance. Within the masonry of the large structure, a vast throne room sat, its high vaulted ceiling and graceful windows flooded the room with light. And at the very end was a pristine throne made of white alabaster stone, while a dark figure currently occupied it. The man had hair black as a raven, with glittering eyes and a hooked nose that made him look much like a predatory bird. Impatient fingers drummed one armrest, while the other hand was currently braced under one chin.

After what felt like ages to the man, the doors to the chamber opened, and a messenger popped in, his eyes wide and his chest heaving from the exertion of running all the way to the throne room.

"Sire!" the messenger cried "We have reports that a young man with green hair in his early twenties was seen in the market place!"

The figure leapt from his throne, standing to his towering height while sending a look loaded with venom to the messenger quivering before him "WHAT?!" he bellowed "When did this occur?"

"J-Just now sir," the messenger quavered "I came to tell you as soon as I heard."

"I see," the figure growled sitting back down in his chair though he continued to glower at the runner "and has this young man been apprehended?"

"N-No, sire," the messenger gulped.

"And why not?" the figured hissed.

"B-Because, he r-ran away,"

"He ran away?" the figure asked incredulously before standing and walking towards the messenger "You came all this way to inform me of a man who you weren't able to catch because he…ran away?!"

"Y-Y-Yes, sire,"

With a roar of rage, the figure lunged forward, plunging a knife deep into the belly of the messenger, only to lean back and watch with sadistic glee as the young man fell to his knees while clutching his stomach. He struggled to stand once again, but only managed to expend what energy he had before collapsing back to the floor, blood pooling beneath his abdomen and spreading across the granite.

"May this serve as a lesson to you," the figure snarled before lifting his voice to address the other soldiers watching the scene unfold "and anyone else who wishes to stay within my good graces. I do not appreciate, nor am I particularly interested in, reports of failure. You know my commands, and failure to carry them out will result in death, so to come all this way just to report that you failed me…really is a bad move on your part."

Drawing his foot back, the villain kicked the messenger across the face, sending him flying down the red carpet and towards the doorways "Take this trash out of my sight, and send me Ballin, I must speak to him concerning this youth that apparently runs faster than our soldiers."

"Yes sir," a servant replied with a bow before picking up the fallen messenger and carrying him out of the throne room.

Striding over to one of the large windows, the figure sneered at his kingdom "He's come back has he? Well then, I'll just have to make sure that I finish the job this time, and ensure that the little whelp is dead for good."

**So what do you guys think? Any thoughts on what you think is going on? Let me know whether you like it or not!**

**REVIEW!**


	2. Revelations

**So I'm back with the second chapter, I hope you enjoyed the first. I don't expect this story to be long or drawn out, I'm kind of a "get right into the plot and the action" kind of girl, which I hope you don't mind.**

**Alright! Back to the story!**

"Man, you should of seen it," Sanji cackled waving his arms for emphasis as he told the story of their adventure that afternoon "some random soldier, and starts yelling at us, but not because we're pirates, but because he was somehow offended by the moss head's hair!"

The entire table cracked up laughing at the image, and even Zoro had to smirk at the absurdity of the statement "Wow," Nami gasped in between laughing "I thought I'd heard everything, but that takes the cake!"

"Yeah," Luffy giggled "why would someone get mad over Zoro's hair?"

"He was probably just jealous because he had such an ugly mug," Zoro snickered making the table melt into another round of laughter.

"Now that's hard to imagine," Sanji grinned wickedly "someone that's actually uglier than you."

"Not everyone is obsessed with their looks like effeminate pretty boys such as…you," Zoro shot back.

"If it wasn't an insult I'd compliment your word usage," Sanji snarled his eyes narrow with fury "to be honest I'm surprised a Neanderthal like you can handle words with more than two syllables."

"Pervert. Cook." Zoro growled back his own ire rising "That monosyllabic enough for you?!"

"Why I oughta-!"

"CHILDREN!" Nami shrieked standing up to walk between them "Seriously, can't you go _one night_ without going at each other's throats? Now sit down and behave before I treat you like the children you insist on impersonating."

Both men plopped back down into their chairs from where they had formerly been preparing to fight, both wearing looks of sheepish petulance as they sullenly obeyed the Navigator in order to avoid her wrath. The red head looked over the scene, and smiled in satisfaction before she too once again claimed her seat "Thank you,"

"At any rate," Robin chuckled "I find it fascinating that a soldier of the Royal Guard would be so interested in Kenshi-san's hair, instead of the fact that he's one of the eleven super novas."

Zoro sent a childish grin of triumph over to Sanji, very nearly considering sticking his tongue out at the fact his bounty was higher than the cook's and his name already known and feared throughout much of the Grand Line and even the New World. Sanji rolled his eyes, pouting as he fought the urge to kick the other man's teeth in.

"I have to agree with sis on that one," Franky said chuckling at the way the two rivals were capable of the fighting without uttering a word "why on earth would they care about something as odd as Zoro-bro's hair?"

Zoro shrugged 'I still stand by that they were jealous of my devilishly good looks,"

Luffy clapped his hands laughing while Zoro snickered alongside his captain and Nami rolled her eyes while struggling to contain her own amused smile "Can't you two ever be mature?"

The captain and his first mate stopped laughing long enough to send confused looks at the navigator "Mature?" Luffy asked cocking his head to the side.

"What meaneth this word?" Zoro finished before both melted into another round of guffaws.

"Oh please," The navigator groaned though the side of her mouth twitched.

"People think you're so serious and scary," Usopp murmured thoughtfully as he watched the antics of the swordsman and the rubber man "but I don't think the newspapers would believe us if we told them what you're _really_ like."

"He's not scary," Chopper squeaked happily jumping into Zoro's lap and cuddling him "Zoro is strong, and kind, and he takes care of all of us."

"Yeah, it's all a façade to hide his inner goofball," Nami laughed.

"Ah, but being allowed to see our swordsman drop his guard and act so relaxed around us makes my heart quiver with joy," Brook practically sung "ah, but I have no heart…SKULL JOKE YOHOHOHO!"

"You guys are going to ruin my reputation," Zoro blushed rolling his one good eye before turning to Robin "So what, should I wear my bandana to avoid any more annoying encounters like the one today?"

"If you wish to," Robin shrugged "though I won't know why they are so interested until we learn more about the Kingdom on this island."

"So what are you planning on doing then, sis?" Franky asked one blue eyebrow rising.

"I was able to get some very interesting books at the library today concerning the history of this island," the Archaeologist smiled "so tonight I will spend some time reading up on its past and see what I find."

The green haired man nodded, before lapsing into a thoughtful silence. Just what was the reason behind the soldier's interest, and why did he feel an uncomfortable burning in his gut like something was going to go terribly wrong?

…

_Burning…Everything was burning…_

_Zoro looked out the window, seeing the houses encased in hungry flames, their light shining through and casting dancing shadows on the opposite wall. The man looked down only to see the chubby hands and short limbs of a child, and his chest heaved as he felt fear flutter in his heart. Casting his eyes around Zoro knew that the place where he was standing was home, but he didn't recognize the building, and confused anxiety twisted in his stomach._

"…_!"_

_Zoro turned at the voice seeing a woman standing at the end of the darkened hallway, unable to understand why he knew she had called his name but couldn't understand what she said "Momma?" he heard himself ask tremulously._

"_Come on …, you must come with me, your father is waiting for us so we can escape!"_

"_No," he said slowly noting how every time she said his name the word was indecipherable "we can't leave papa,"_

"_I'm so sorry … that you have to leave," The woman sobbed as she ran towards Zoro and wrapped him in trembling arms "but we have to go, and maybe one day when you're big and strong you can come back."_

"_Wait…" Zoro asked breathless "Aren't you coming with?"_

"_I'm sorry…"_

_Suddenly the scene shifted and Zoro was assaulted by an endless reel of pictures, a narrow tunnel, an old woman, the shadowed face of a soldier as he was carried away, but most prominent was the sight of a burning harbor, with a pure white flag fluttering on its highest minaret and emblazoned on the banner was the symbol of an emerald green lion._

Zoro jerked up with a pained cry, glistening sweat drenching his shirt and plastering short green hair to his forehead. His chest heaved as he drug air into his lungs, his broad shoulders shaking with random bursts of uncontrollable tremors as he struggled to regain his composure.

"That's not what happens when you have a migraine," a soft voice hissed in the darkness.

"Shut up dartboard brow," Zoro replied in a quavering whisper "it's not like it affects you."

"Actually it does," Sanji retorted keeping his voice low as he stretched out his legs, crossing them as he folded his arms behind his head and settled into his bunk "because it was when you were supposed to be shopping with me that you spazzed out in the market, and I could tell that something was wrong even then, so spill."

Zoro huffed a sound that was caught between a sigh and a growl, and Sanji listened to the swordsman's bunk creak as he turned over, waiting for the man to give an answer. Seconds turned into minutes, and Sanji had begun to drift back to sleep, content with thinking that Zoro had decided to ignore him, and effectively force him to mind his own business when the green haired man's soft baritone floated up to where he lay.

"I keep seeing these…images," Zoro said in a halting whisper "things I can't explain, ever since we got to this island it's been nonstop headaches accompanied by flashes of pictures that I know I've never seen before, but…they feel so familiar."

Sanji felt his brow furrow in confusion and he slung himself over the side of his bunk, his head hanging upside down so he could address his closest friend "What kind of images?"

The swordsman rolled onto his back, meeting the blonds' gaze as he pursed his lips in careful silence, contemplating his answer "Like…today," he said softly "I looked up at the rooftops and the sun, and a headache came on, and when I blinked instead of seeing what was there, I saw burning building and people running and I heard screams."

Sanji chewed on the knuckle of his thumb, a habit he could never seem to drop, something he only did when he was thinking really hard about something "And these images, are they vivid?" he asked in a whispered query.

"Yeah," Zoro replied in a dull croak "and the dream I had tonight, I was standing in this huge house looking down at this city, and it was burning. There was this woman, and she kept telling me that I had to leave…I think…I think she was, my mother."

Sanji's eyes snapped to Zoro's face in time to see an unknown emotion flit across his features. It was a strange mix of fear, confusion, and grief "Your mother?" the cook asked cautiously in a soft tone "Are you sure?"

"I don't know," the green haired man shook his head, "I mean, I've never met the woman, so I don't know if it was all a dream or…"

"Something deeper?" Sanji supplied, a worried frown marring his brow when the swordsman merely nodded.

"Sanji," Zoro said in a barely audible voice, his one eye troubled and serious "I don't know what to do, I know I've never been here before, but…"

"You're worried these dreams might be, what, memories?" The cook whispered in a surprised tone.

"I…" Zoro began his voice cracking before he could continue "I don't remember my life before seven years old, and I lived in the dojo where I trained under Koshiro sensei until I left at fourteen. I…I don't know who I am, or where I came from…So…"

Sanji let his head drop, his chin resting against the wood of his bunk as he pondered Zoro's words "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see, ya know?"

The swordsman just nodded, rolling over in his bed but his sleep was interrupted by one more question from the cook "Is there anything specific that you remember, something that really stuck out to you?"

Zoro rolled back over, seeing Sanji still hanging over the side of his bed "I remember one thing…there was a white flag, and it had a green lion on it."

Sanji blinked slowly before rolling back onto his bunk, leaving the swordsman to his thoughts "G'night,"

…..

The next morning The crew gathered together and were eating a rowdy breakfast when Robin walked into the room, her eyes tired, but a satisfied smile on her face "Good morning everyone,"

"Good morning!" Chopper chirped.

"Hey Robin!" Luffy waved enthusiastically.

"I was worried about you," Nami giggled in between bites of egg "you were up almost all night reading!"

"Well the history of this island is very interesting," Robin smiled gently "I must admit that I was quite enraptured."

"So what did you find out?" Sanji asked sneaking a surreptitious look at Zoro, receiving an unhappy glare from the man in question for it.

"Apparently the Kingdom's past is quite turbulent just in the past two decades, but it was very peaceful under the reign of the previous king,"

"Oooh," Luffy's eyes were wide at the story "what happened?"

"Years ago," Robin began "the kingdom was ruled by a kind and fair King, Fierro Lionhart; but fourteen years ago the royal family was betrayed by a member of the court, Count Grugen. He made a deal with the celestial Dragons that he would give them control of the Kingdom in return for being made the King."

"That's horrible," Usopp murmured.

The archaeologist nodded her agreement "According to the history texts the Celestial Dragons brought their armada, and burned down a large portion of the Kingdom,"

The entire table's attention was ripped away from Robin by a harsh choking sound, only to turn and see Zoro doubled over pounding on his chest before sitting up, his face red as he panted for air "Sorry," he gasped "bit of egg went down the wrong pipe."

The group shrugged with the exception of Sanji who was too busy sending a look of surprised shock at Zoro, while the green haired man tried to focus on not hyperventilating "So, what happened next," the swordsman choked out in a strangled voice.

"From what I read, the King was captured and thrown in prison, while the Queen is being held as a political hostage."

"So Count Grugen," Nami cut in "he's the King now?"

"Yes," Robin nodded "he took over after they overthrew the true King."

"So his flag is the red one with the black snake?" Chopper asked quietly watching as Robin nodded before muttering "I don't like it, it's scary."

"What does the original flag look like?" Usopp threw in.

Robin smiled, taking out a book from inside her jacket pocket and flipping through the pages until it came to rest on a picture that made Zoro's breath catch in his throat and his world tilt in shock.

"Here it is sniper-san," Robin replied gently "the symbol of the house Lionhart, it's a white flag with a green lion on it."

**So, the plot thickens! **

**Stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	3. Heart to Heart talks

**Well I'm back with the third chapter! Hope ya'll are enjoying it so far, and please don't for get to review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its Characters.**

Sanji finished serving breakfast, vaguely listening to the chatter around the table, and only half heartedly cooing over the ladies. His gut twisted with nervous anxiety as he looked over to where the swordsman usually sat, only to see it empty.

After Robin had showed the picture of the flag to everyone that morning, the blond felt his heart drop to his stomach, and he could tell that the marimo felt the same. So much of Zoro's dream coincided with what the archaeologist had said about the island's past, and more importantly that it had taken place fourteen years ago, which made Zoro around seven years old when it all happened. The similarities between the stories and what little facts they had apparently proved too much for the marimo, because Zoro had immediately stood up and walked out of the room claiming that he was tired and wanted to take a nap.

The crew each had their own worried expression on, because we all know that as antisocial as the swordsman may act, he never misses meals or skips out on family time with the crew. It's just the way the man worked. Sure he might grumble, or nap his way through most of it, but more than usually, he was at the forefront of their parties drinking and laughing with everyone else.

Sanji gnawed on his cigarette, chewing it to unusable ribbons in his frustration with the man who was both his rival, and the closest thing he had to a sibling "Stupid marimo making everyone worry," he muttered as he sat down to eat.

Nami looked across the table, knowing Sanji's moods and the meaning behind them thanks to the years they spent together. She had been the third person to join the crew, and she liked to think she knew Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji better than anyone else. True she didn't know everything about them, but she still had insight into their behavior due to prior experience and the privilege of watching them grow from dreamers to warriors.

"Sanji-kun," Nami said sweetly in a soft whisper tugging on the man's sleeve.

"Hai, Nami-swan," the man cooed though his eyes were still clouded by worry.

"I don't want to be a bother," the navigator said batting her eyes for extra measure "but could you go downstairs and tell Zoro that I need him to run some errands for me today? Since you'll probably be taking the rest of his breakfast to him like the gentleman that you are, I was hoping you could save me a trip."

Sanji watched as Nami gave him a subtle wink, and his heart soared at her kindness at thinking of him and giving him the perfect excuse to check on Zoro without arousing suspicion "It would be my pleasure my sweet angel!" he noodled.

"Thank you Sanji-kun," Nami smiled patting his arm "just make sure that lazy idiot knows that he's not getting out of his responsibilities to his crew."

Sanji smiled at the hidden message interlaced within her words and carried through chocolate brown eyes _'Please let Zoro know we're his family and are here for him, no matter what's going on…'_

"Of course I will Nami-swan!"

The blond practically danced out of the galley, but slowed once he hit the steps. His heart constricted with somber grief over the secrets he was keeping for their resident marimo, and the man felt concern burn like acid in the back of his throat as he considered what it all may mean. With measured steps, the lithe man walked down the long staircase, and through the door leading to the men's dormitory.

Seated on the couch in the middle of the room, Zoro sat with his elbows braced against the table, and his face buried in his hands. On closer inspection, the cook noticed how one leg bobbed as it bounced up and down, probably a nervous tic that the swordsman does when he's worried or even scared about something. His shoulders shook with barely restrained emotion, and the blond man heard the marimo give thick heavy swallows every five seconds or so, almost as if the swordsman was fighting against his body's need to have an emotional meltdown and was finding it to be a losing battle.

"Oi, marimo," Sanji said softly as he approached the sitting area.

Zoro gave no sign of having heard him, and the cook sighed in abject grief as he casually sat down on the couch and flicked the larger man's ear with his finger "Zoro!"

"HUH?!" The man whirled around, his one good eye glassy and unfocused as he turned his gaze to the blond next to him "What are you doing here love cook?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Sanji growled softly as he stretched out his legs and casually lit a cigarette "to be honest, I should kick your teeth in for making Nami worry."

"The sea witch sent you to check on me?" Zoro snorted incredulously.

"Yeah," the cook nodded sending a stern glare over to the man "and to be honest, you weren't exactly subtle the way you hightailed it out of the galley like your boots were on fire."

Zoro's heart sunk and he shifted forward and folded his arms across the table, and buried his face into the crook of his elbow, angling it away from his rival "Yeah, so what?" he muttered his voice muffled by skin.

"So what?!" Sanji scoffed his baby blue eyes wide with indignation "Come on marimo, I know you're an idiot, but even I never thought you were this stupid, do I have to spell it out for you?"

Silence was the cook's only reply, and the blond gave an aggravated snarl "Listen dingbat, we're your nakama, which means for better, or for worse, we're your family; and pulling stunts like you did tonight only makes the crew worry."

"You don't have to worry about me," came the exhausted retort.

Sanji gave a less than convinced snort "Tell me that next time we go somewhere and you do something stupid which lands you in the medical bay, like the time you, oh I don't know, offered your life in exchange for Luffy's?! A secret that I'm still keeping by the way, and personally, I think that this whole keeping secrets from the crew thing is only going to blow up in your face, especially with what's happening now."

"No one asked you to keep my secrets for me, and definitely no one asked you to care," Zoro spat into his arms, still refusing to look at the cook.

Sanji's foot twitched as he considered ramming his heel into the man's thick head, but stopped himself short of enacting such a thing, taking a deep draw of his cigarette the man muttered "You're a real handful, you know that?"

"And you're a prissy little princess, but you don't see me trying to stick my nose into your business." Zoro grumbled.

"No I mean it," Sanji snarled crossing his arms with a huff "I'm sick of you constantly acting so tough, and never letting anyone help you, it's like you're scared of leaning on others because you think you'll be too much trouble; or worse, you don't like leaning on others because you think they won't be able to keep up with you."

The cook sighed, a small growl slipping out in the undertones "And as far as my nose sticking into your business, I've been here since the trouble started, and I thought that I was being a friend by checking on you especially since you told me about your dreams."

"Something I definitely regret doing now," Zoro hissed, but immediately regretted his words when he felt the palpable wave of hurt oozing from the blond sitting next to him.

Sitting up, the man finally cast a hesitant gaze on Sanji, and gave a heavy swallow "I-I'm sorry," he whispered "I didn't mean it, I'm just…really stressed out right now."

Sanji smiled at the sincere apology and shrugged feigning nonchalance "Yeah well, this would be stressful on the average person, but for a brain dead Neanderthal like you, it must be practically overwhelming."

…

Ballin, captain of the Royal Guard, and confidant of the current King, Count Grugen walked down the hall of the palace towards the throne room in a brisk clip. He had been on the other side of the Kingdom when a messenger carrying word of his immediate summoning to the King's side had arrived, and the man winced at how much time it had taken to come.

Finally coming to the large doors marking the entrance to the audience chamber, Ballin ran a hand through dark chestnut hair, before knocking on the imposing façade.

"Enter,"

With one last sigh of resignation, the captain strode inside with his head held high "You called for my liege?"

Count Grugen sat on the throne, looking down his hooked nose at the man who he trusted more than anyone else in the kingdom, but not by much "Ballin, I received disturbing news yesterday that has made me question my faith in your abilities."

Fear squeezed the man's heart and Ballin had to clear his throat before answering "And what report what that be, your highness?"

"A young man was seen in the square," Grugen hissed, his eyes narrow with suspicion "with green hair in his early twenties, and he appears to have outrun our guard and therefore, is still at large."

"If I may be so bold my liege," Ballin replied with a barely repressed sigh "I'm not sure how that involves me?"

"How does it _not_ involve you?!" Grugen suddenly exploded, leaping from his throne and pinning the Captain of the Guard with a venomous glare "Fourteen years ago I gave you a specific job, to kill a certain child, and now it appears he has somehow come back from the grave. So now I'm wondering, did you fail me all those years ago?"

"Sire," Ballin spoke in what he hoped was a soothing submissive tone "the boy is dead, I killed him myself. Besides, there are many young people these days that dye their hair atrocious colors, for heaven's sake; there is even a world renowned pirate with green hair! For all we know, it could be just some street punk hoping to imitate what he saw on a wanted poster. The green hair is probably just a terrible coincidence."

"Not in this kingdom," Grugen spat though seemingly pacified as he reclaimed his seat on the throne "but I will trust you one more time in this matter. As it stands we will be celebrating the Kingdom's Five hundredth anniversary in the span of a few short days, and on that date I plan on executing the prisoner in our holding block and further cementing my place on the throne, I cannot allow any details to go wrong especially any random street rat who might ruin my plans."

"If I may ask Sire," Ballin queried softly "why is the festival so important?"

"Because, old friend," Grugen sneered "the Celestial Dragons will be visiting our fair Kingdom, and will preside over the last trial of the man known as Fierro Lionhart. If all goes well, and you have truly taken care of all the insurgents as you promised, then no one will be able to disprove our claims, and thus Fierro Lionhart will be executed, and I will be the uncontested King of this land."

"I see," the captain nodded "then I will do all in my power to ensure that the festival goes precisely as planned with no problems."

"Thank you Ballin," Grugen smiled thinly before waving his hand "you may be dismissed,"

Ballin bowed, unable to suppress the breath of relief that whooshed from his lungs "Thank you sire,"

The man turned around and prepared to leave, but was stopped once more by the traitor King's voice;

"Ballin," Grugen called, his voice sickeningly sweet "You'd better pray that I don't discover that you lied to me, because you and I both know what torments await you should such a thing happen."

"Of course, Sire," the Captain said with a bow before walking out of the throne room.

Once the door closed, the man massaged his temples with shaking hands "No," he whispered "why now of all times must you come back?"

Snapping cold blue eyes to the nearest soldier, Ballin barked a command "Find me Lieutenant Aldergrave, and spread the word throughout the barracks, fetch me any and all young men in their early twenties with green hair. Bring them by force if necessary, but do not leave one stone unturned, I want them in my cells before the night of the festival!"

"SIR!"

**Whoo! Well, things are getting interesting, aren't they? If you have any suggestions, requests, or just plain up criticism, feel free to REVIEW!**


	4. Chance Meetings

**Wow, I never expected such a great result from this fic!**

**LOVE you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

Later that day Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy walked through the downtown square, their eyes wide as they took in the sights and decorations covering the plaza.

"WOW!" Luffy exclaimed "I wonder what's going on, a party?!"

"I don't know," Zoro chuckled at his captain's enthusiasm as the young man scrambled from side to side, peering at the many colorful things surrounding him "it looks like some kind of festival."

"Here, let me check," Sanji grinned stepping over to a nearby booth only to see a lovely young woman manning it "Excuse my dear, could you help me?"

The girl blushed and batted her eyes at the handsome blond "Well that depends," she flirted "what is it you need?"

"A brain," the swordsman scoffed.

Sanji felt his smile strain as he shot a glare over his shoulder before turning back to the young woman "My friends and I were wondering why there was so much gaiety in the streets. Why are there so many decorations?"

"Oh it's the festival celebrating our kingdom's Five Hundredth anniversary," the young lady gushed "there will be games, and tournaments, and food from all the best restaurants in the kingdom! Also I hear the Celestial Dragons will be celebrating with us! They're actually coming to sentence a prisoner that's been held for years and years, but it's still exciting to think that such famous nobility will be coming to our festival!"

"A trial?" Sanji asked his interest perking, noticing Zoro shuffle closer when the cook brought up the topic "For who?"

"Well, according to what I learned in school," the girl shrugged carelessly "it's the old King, Fierro Lionhart, my teachers taught us as kids that he pretended to be this great ruler, but was actually a wicked King and Count Grugen asked the Celestial Dragons to save us from his tyranny. This festival will also mark his last trial before his execution."

Zoro couldn't explain why his heart constricted painfully from the news, fluttering even as it banged against his chest in an uneven rhythm "What did he do that was so horrible?" the swordsman asked, incomprehensible anger creeping into his tone.

Sanji seemed shocked at the sheer fury and indignation painting the green haired man's features but shook it off quickly "I agree, it seems rather odd that a King who according to history was a kind ruler is put in prison and soon to be executed."

"Ah...w-well," the girl stammered "I me-mean, I don't know _everything_ that he did, I only know what my teachers told me, that he was a tyrant, and Count-er, I mean, _King_ Grugen, is the one who saved our Kingdom from his overly strict ideas and morals for our people."

Sanji frowned, but flashed a brilliant smile to the young woman, thanking her for her help. Turning back to his friends, Zoro's face was a dark cloud of anger, while his teeth were grit hard enough to make his molars creak.

"How disgusting," Zoro spat "keeping an innocent man hostage, while spreading political propaganda to the people, feeding them lies just so some stuffed up Count can have the throne that wasn't even his to begin with."

Sanji raised an eyebrow "Why do _you_ care?"

Zoro balked at that question "I-I don't, I mean, I don't care about the politics of some island, and I couldn't care less about some imprisoned King."

"Uh-huh," Sanji chuckled "Whatever you say Marimo,"

"HEY LOOK!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly "Horses!"

"Look, I don't care," Zoro growled at the blond "so stop making insinuations about things that don't exist."

"If you don't care, then why were you so angry?" Sanji prodded.

"Oooh!" Luffy continued "There's a carriage too!"

"I'm not angry, because like I said, I don't care!" Zoro spat.

"Marimo," Sanji chuckled "admit it, you're angry, but I want to know why you suddenly feel such righteous indignation for the man?"

Zoro grit his teeth, angry both at the fact he was being questioned in such an insistent manner by the cook, and the fact that he couldn't explain why he was so incensed. He didn't know why, but the thought of people accusing Fierro Lionhart of being a traitor to the Kingdom, and a tyrant made a fiery anger burn through his stomach, and his hands clench into tight fists.

"I Don't KNOW!" Zoro bellowed, making the horses passing by rear up, their neighs shrieking in fear, and the driver called out in his attempt to calm them

"WHOA, WHOA!"

Zoro gave a small yelp as he narrowly missed a flying hoof, and backed up a few steps "Watch where you're going!"

"Driver!" a harsh voice shouted from within the carriage "What's the meaning of this, why are we stopped?!"

A figure stepped out of the carriage, and the crowd immediately hushed while surprised murmurs rang out "The King, it's the King!"

Count Grugen looked on the people with a sneer of disdain before his eyes lit on the young man standing by his carriage. He was wearing a black bandana, while three golden earrings dangled from his left ear, and three swords hung gracefully on his right hip. One eye was scarred, but the other glittered with confident intelligence, his face solemn and serious.

"You there, did you cause this delay?" Grugen snarled.

"Not intentionally." Zoro grumbled.

On the outside he was calm, but on the inside Zoro was reeling. The face of the man from the carriage caused a small explosion in his skull, the migraine coming back full force, throbbing painfully in his temples. Flashes of blurry pictures pierced through his brain, making his vision grow fuzzy and his head sway as dizziness knocked his senses into oblivion. He struggled to keep his composure under control, but every pang behind his eyeballs caused darkness to eat at the corners of his vision and he felt his balance begin to slip.

"Well then" Grugen continued, unaware of the struggle within the man "if it weren't for the fact that I'm on a deadline, I'd have you flogged for your impertinence, but because I don't have time to waste on trash like you, I'll let you have a moment of mercy."

Sanji snorted, lighting a cigarette and blowing the smoke in Grugen's face with a snarky grin "We appreciate your generosity,"

"Next time you won't be so lucky," Grugen hissed "for now, I suggest you watch where you're going, _boy_."

Without as much as a backwards glance, the man climbed back into his carriage and bellowed "Drive on!"

Sanji watched the carriage drive away, his lips curled in distaste while Luffy made faces at the retreating vehicle, until the two turned back to Zoro "Man, what a jerk right Zor-WHOA!"

Sanji jumped back, and Luffy ran up to his swordsman his eyes wide with alarm "Zoro!" the raven haired boy cried "You're bleeding!"

Within the fog of pain, the man barely registered what his captain had said, and gingerly lifted one hand to the warm trickle of moisture spreading across his lip only to find a massive nosebleed. His migraine however did not let up, and as blood continued to gush from his nose, the swordsman felt his knees buckle. Darkness overtaking him even as the face of Count Grugen haunted his thoughts, Zoro gripped his head with both hands as the pangs grew increasingly more violent, and the man gave a sharp grunt of pain as he fell.

Sanji and Luffy barely caught him before he hit the ground, and the cook hissed quietly in the green haired man's ear "Zoro, we need to tell the crew, this is getting out of hand!"

Zoro shook his head weakly, his voice a soft croak "No…don't tell…s'nothin'…"

"It's _not _NOTHING!" Sanji persisted in an angry hiss "I think you're experiencing flashbacks, and memories you never knew you had are coming back. If you keep resisting, and don't let us help you, this will only get worse!"

"It's not memories," Zoro snarled, even as his one eye began to flutter closed "they can't be…I'm not…"

Suddenly he slumped forward, and was out cold, leaving Sanji a fuming tower of blond hair, while Luffy looked over his swordsman "Sanji," the captain said solemnly "I don't remember Zoro getting hurt, so why is he bleeding?"

Sanji snorted, his bad mood making his bottom lip stick out in a pout "Like the moss head tells _me_ anything useful?"

Luffy turned his contemplative gaze back to the road, and the two began the long trek back to the _Thousand Sunny_.

…

Later that evening back at the palace, a young woman sat at her mirror, large emerald eyes were accented by a long flowing mane of forest green hair. A silver brush in hand, she ran the object through her tresses in graceful even strokes, looking for all the world as innocent as a lady of her gentle birth could possibly seem. But underneath the fine clothes and gleaming jewels dwelt the courage of a warrior and the mind of a master tactician, for this young lady was Fiona Lionhart, daughter of the former King, and princess of the realm, and she had a plan.

Standing in one smooth stride, she glided across the floor, and after glancing around to ensure no one was in the room, opened a secret compartment within her wardrobe. Reaching inside, she pulled out a letter that had been stamped with the royal insignia of the house of Lionhart and hid it within her bodice. Once again stepping back over to her mirror, the young woman sat down on the stool, and took a deep breath as her heart hammered in her chest.

This letter would be the key component to her father's rescue, and ultimately, his release. She knew that everything hinged on the festival, and bringing the proper amount of witnesses to the stand against Count Grugen. Not only that, but for the past several months she had convinced Grugen of her compliance in becoming his bride convincing him of her loyalty to him, thus making him not have to send spies to watch her every move. Of course the idea of her wanting to marry the man couldn't be further from the truth, but she needed her memory intact in order to stand against him in a court of law once the Celestial Dragons arrive.

Fiona sighed, she knew the Dragons to be wicked, greedy, selfish brutes, which cared little for the lives of people outside of their family, but she knew that even they must be obedient to certain laws in order to keep their precious pedestal in the world government intact. If she can prove her father's innocence, then maybe, he can regain his throne, and the torment caused by Grugen's evil will become nothing more than a dark memory.

Suddenly a knock sounded on a door that was hidden behind a tapestry, once on the right, once on the left, and twice near the bottom. Fiona stood, rushing over to the doorway, and shoved the tapestry aside as she opened it.

"Nanny," she breathed happily.

"My dear girl," the old woman sighed "I do _not_ like keeping these secrets from your mother, I was just with her you know, and I do not, and I mean do NOT, like telling her lies about what you're actually doing."

"Now Nanny," Fiona scolded gently with a playful pout "what would mother think if she knew her delicate little princess was involved with the resistance?"

"HA!" the woman scoffed, unmoved by the puppy dog eyes "what would she say if she knew her dear, refined little girl was the _leader_ of the resistance?"

"Probably the same thing she would say to me?" Fiona laughed with a careless shrug "At any rate, I have a letter for you of the utmost importance, and you must deliver it to our contact tomorrow at the usual place in the market."

The old nanny sighed "Oh how I wish you didn't have to do these things, if only your brother were here,"

"Well he's not!"Fiona snapped, her eyes emerald fire "He's dead, and completely incapable of helping us, and you bringing him up isn't going to help us Nanny!"

The woman let out one more forlorn sigh before nodding her head "Of course my dear, you're right, no use wishing for the impossible when we have enough impossibility to worry about right now."

"Exactly," Fiona nodded "now remember, you must be there at noon, tomorrow is the last day before the festival begins, and we need the information delivered post haste!"

"Of course my lady, I will do as you command,"

**Oooh, so what do you think?**

**REVIEW!**


	5. Explanations

**Oooh, Luffy isn't happy **

"What happened?!" Nami shrieked when she saw Sanji and Luffy carrying an unconscious swordsman between them.

"Was there a fight?" Usopp asked his eyes wide at the amount of blood still trickling down from Zoro's nose.

"Of course not," Sanji growled still angry at the green haired man "if it were a fight, then he wouldn't be unconscious."

Luffy laughed at his cook's blunt statement before yelling "Chopper!"

The reindeer ran out from the galley, took one look at Zoro and immediately started screaming "DOCTOR! SOMEBODY GET A DOCTOR!"

"YOU ARE THE DOCTOR!"

"…oh…right…"

Chopper ran up to the duo, his face serious as he assessed the moss headed man before giving a firm nod "It might be a bad case of heatstroke, but I can't be sure, for now put him in the infirmary and I'll start pumping some fluids into him."

The two men carried their nakama to the med bay and laid the swordsman down on the bed "Sanji," Luffy said softly waiting until his cook grunted a reply "I'll stay with Zoro, you can go."

The blond man glanced at his captain, but saw the all too familiar gleam in his eyes that said he wasn't happy about something, and Sanji nodded his acquiescence "Right, don't beat him up too badly."

Luffy blinked as if slightly shocked at Sanji's perceptiveness that he had wanted to talk to his swordsman before breaking out into a wide grin and giving a small snicker "I'll try,"

The blond smirked at his captain, letting out a snort of amusement before vacating his spot and leaving the room, and the raven haired boy turned back to Zoro, his face set in a determined pout as he waited for the man to awake. Eventually Chopper came in, and gave a quick physical, noting how the swordsman's nose had finally stopped bleeding but his features were still strained with pain even as he slept.

"What happened?" the reindeer asked in a clipped professional tone he always took on when he was working.

Luffy's head shot up when Chopper addressed him and he grasped around for an answer "Uh, well…We were walking down the street, and ran into a jerk, but he left without fighting. When we looked at Zoro after that, he had blood coming out of his nose, and his hands were on his head like it hurt really bad. He passed out after that."

Chopper pursed his lips thoughtfully as he turned his gaze back to the prone form of his most troublesome patient "Sounds like a migraine gone wrong," he murmured.

Luffy nodded "Zoro's been rubbing his head a lot lately."

Chopper returned the nod "I've noticed too, I offered him some painkillers, but he always turns them down."

"Is there anything you can do?" Luffy asked.

Chopper shook his head "Not until Zoro wakes up and can give me more information, the most we can do now is make him comfortable."

The captain of the straw hats sighed before giving a confidant smile to his doctor "Everything will be ok, I mean its Zoro, and it would take a lot more than a bad headache to defeat him."

Chopper smiled "Right,"

"I'm going to wait for Zoro to wake up," Luffy grunted "you don't have to stay."

Chopper cocked his head, but understood the hidden message within it and merely left without another word.

…..

Hours went by bringing the afternoon into early evening, and the man finally began to roust into wakefulness, making Luffy lean forward until their faces were barely an inch apart "Zoro?"

An emerald eye slowly fluttered open and as his surroundings came into focus the man let out an undignified yelp, jumping at the nearness of his captain "LUFFY!"

"Hiya Zoro!" Luffy grinned "How ya feeling?"

The swordsman frowned, in truth he already felt like he had divulged enough concerning his personal problems, and the only reason why he told Sanji was because the cook had shown himself to be trustworthy when it came to keeping secrets from the crew. The fact that Sanji had made it so long without telling a single soul about what had happened on Thriller Bark had given Zoro the evidence he needed to come to the conclusion that though the blond was annoying and more trouble than he was worth most of the time, he could at the very least be trusted. It was still an odd feeling though, talking to others about his problems, and while he knew that Luffy was most definitely trustworthy, there was only one thing he hated more than breaking a promise, and that was when people worried over him.

Zoro knew that if he were to tell Luffy his current problems then the young captain would worry his head off over him, but at the same time judging by the look lurking behind the seemingly playful gaze…he won't have any other choice but to talk.

Flinging the blankets off his legs and walking over to the window the swordsman cast an intense gaze over the water "I'm fine," Zoro grunted, tempting fate by trying to play it off as nothing anyway.

Luffy's features immediately turned sober, and his dark eyes narrowed "You're lying,"

The green haired man blanched, knowing that that was exactly the answer he would get, but unhappy with the results anyway "Luffy," he said softly "it doesn't matter."

"It matters to me," Luffy insisted crossing his arms with a petulant pout.

"Well, it shouldn't," Zoro continued.

"Any time one of my nakama is hurt, it matters," Luffy persisted.

"I'm not hurt!" the man yelled turning around to glare at his captain.

The swordsman was only met by silence and a determined stare, a look that clearly told him that answer was unacceptable. Finally the man just sighed "Luffy, it's probably nothing."

"If it makes you bleed, it isn't nothing," Luffy shot back.

Zoro growled "This isn't something you can make go away by beating it up!"

Luffy merely continued to stare at Zoro, making the man fidget uncomfortably, and then the raven haired young man said the two words that always made Zoro crumble "Captain's order,"

The swordsman sighed, giving a groan of resignation as he walked over to sit back down on the bed, before muttering out his reply "Luffy, I have…images…Dreams…I don't know where they're coming from, but Sanji has ideas that they're…something else."

"Like what?"

Zoro sighed "…Memories…"

"Memories of what?" The captain asked softly.

"I don't remember anything before I was seven years old," Zoro murmured, his one good eye dark as he stared at the floorboards of the infirmary.

"Nothing," Luffy breathed "at all?"

The swordsman shook his head giving a heavy swallow "…No…"

"Why not?"

The green haired man raked his fingers across his scalp "I don't know," he rasped "obviously because I can't remember."

"What do you think?" Luffy continued, his cobalt gaze as gentle as it was probing.

"I can't accept that they're memories," Zoro ground out, gritting his teeth "it's just too…stupid for them to be memories, like this is some kind of sappy dime store novel and I'll suddenly find out that I'm a long lost prince, or something equally idiotic."

Luffy cracked a grin "Yeah, that'd be too weird."

"You're telling me," Zoro snorted before the two nakama melted into soft chuckles.

Eventually the two calmed down, and the room was brought back into silence, but Luffy eventually broke the calm with a soft statement "You can trust us, Zoro,"

The swordsman gave a humorless smile, his eye narrowing as a twinge of guilt over Thriller bark flashed through his mind "I know I can," he merely grunted.

Luffy nodded before standing up and dropping his hat onto the swordsman's head before leaving the room "Good,"

Zoro fingered the hat, knowing the significance of why his captain gave it to him, before standing up with a faint groan. He had seen Luffy give his hat to those he thought needed it, and the fact he had given it to him was evidence of what his captain thought about the images which were now officially accompanied by nose bleeds and horrendously intense migraines. At any rate, at the very least maybe the hat might prove to have some magical resistance to his nightmares, and he could survive the night in the men's quarters without them.

…..

"My lady," Grugen smiled thinly as the princess walked through the doors of the library.

"My Lord," Princess Fiona replied demurely with a small curtsy.

The traitor king walked over to the woman he wanted to take for his wife holding out one hand, waiting until she gave him hers, and placed a tender kiss on her knuckles "You look as radiant as the sunrise,"

"Thank you, my lord," Fiona replied sweetly, her lips quirking in a small smile "you're too kind,"

"I'm glad you came," Grugen smirked "there is something very particular I wish to discuss with you."

"Is that so?" Fiona murmured giving a flirtatious bat of her eyes.

The count chuckled softly "Yes, my little minx, I have been considering our…relationship, and I have decided to bring you further into my council."

Fiona gave what she hoped was a sultry purr "Hmm, it would be a lie to say that I haven't been hoping you would say those exact words."

Grugen leaned in close, running his nose along her cheek, not noticing the way she tensed and fought down the gag from his close proximity "Of course you have," he whispered.

Walking away from her the traitor king approached the fireplace and folded his hands behind his back "Ever since you approached me, suggesting that we marry in the effort of legitimizing my hold to the throne all so you don't lose your comfort in lifestyle, I had a inkling that we were…kindred spirits. Both interested in power, and both willing to do whatever it took to get it and maintain it."

"Power is the only thing worth having in this world," Fiona murmured quietly as she sat down in one of the luxurious chairs and flipped open a lacy fan to hide her smirk "made valuable because it is so difficult to obtain."

"Agreed," Grugen muttered before turning to face the princess "thus why I'm telling you more of my plan. Your idea to have one last trial of your father, inviting the Celestial Dragons to officiate no less, was a stroke of genius. But there is so much more to this than just being king."

"I would have expected no less, my Lord," Fiona nodded her heart beating wildly as she realized she was about to hear the truth behind why Grugen wanted the throne so badly.

"I'm sure you're aware that your father knew a great many people in his lifetime," the count asked taking a seat across from the princess.

"My father was a very…social man," Fiona replied leaning forward to pour tea that had been set specifically for their meeting "though not always with the best circles, he had little regard for pedigrees and social standing."

"On that I must agree," Grugen sneered with a malicious smile "and one of those people that your father insisted on surrounding himself with was none other than the notorious pirate Red Haired Shanks."

"Truly?!" Fiona made no effort to hide the genuine surprise that raced across her beautiful features.

"Indeed," the traitor king nodded solemnly "it was because of that friendship that he decided to waste this island's most valuable resource and doom your kingdom to mediocrity."

"Our most valuable resource being…what, exactly?" the princess breathed.

"Seastone," Grugen practically hissed "your island is almost entirely made of the stuff, and your father chose not to mine it, because he was worried that selling Seastone to the Marines would give the World Government an 'unfair advantage' so to speak. He was a raging lunatic who was convinced that the World Government was part of a dark conspiracy bent on world domination and so on. In short, he trusted dirty pirates more than he trusted our government."

"That's…shocking," Fiona turned away trying to appear disgusted by the idea when inside her soul was singing at the bravery of her father.

"Isn't it just," Grugen sneered, "however I intend to change that, once my hold on the throne is indisputable, I will use the incomprehensible amount of Seastone sitting in your mountainsides to become the wealthiest ruler in history, second only to the Celestial Dragons."

"So you would rape our countryside, destroy national landmarks, and even make thousands of our people homeless all so you can tap into the immeasurable wealth dwelling beneath our feet?" Fiona asked with what she prayed was a sly smile.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Grugen's face was wreathed in a frown before the princess' response made him cackle in glee.

"Only if you intend on not splitting the profit with me 50/50," Fiona said with a small pout.

The count sent a wicked grin to the woman "You my dear," he murmured in a less than seductive tone "are positively vile, thus why I'm wedding you."

"So is that a yes?" Fiona purred.

"Oh yes," Grugen nodded happily "I'll gladly give you a percentage of the profits, though we'll discuss the particulars later. For now though my dear, console yourself with the thought that by this time next year we will be living in a luxurious palace ten times the size of this one, with more wealth than we'll know what to do with."

Fiona hummed in pleasure "Sounds heavenly," she whispered.

Grugen grinned, placing a kiss on her cheek "I must go now, the Celestial Dragons wish to speak concerning the trial, and I do not wish to keep them waiting."

"Of course my Lord," Fiona smiled standing up and giving a respectful curtsy "I look forward to the next time we may spend time together."

"As do I,"

Grugen left the room, and Fiona let out the breath she had been holding "So that's why he was so desperate to dethrone my father," she muttered as she glared at the door Grugen had left through "so he can desecrate our kingdom and turn it into some kind of massive slave mining operation, I need to get another letter to Ballin immediately about this."

**So what do you think?**

**REVIEW!**


	6. Nightmares and Questions

**So glad you guys are enjoying this!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

_He was being carried…_

_Zoro grunted as the person carrying him tripped on a loose stone, almost falling to the ground, but recovered their balance only to continue running. Zoro could smell the dank mold surrounding them as they ran through what appeared to be a dark tunnel lit by the single torch carried by his savior. Suddenly they burst from the tunnel out into the night air, and Zoro could see a large stone wall with the small tunnel looming overhead._

_The duo ran for what felt like hours, sprinting through a sudden surge of people as they all raced in single minded panic for the harbor._

_Looking behind him, the child warrior was shocked to see buildings on every side of him burning, pieces of flaming debris falling from overhead, while sparks landed on his skin causing the child to yelp in pain. The person who's embrace he was currently squeezed in however did not slow their pace, but actually increased it, and Zoro felt his heart hammer as the boatyard began to come into view and escape seemed assured._

_However neither of them expected a shadowed soldier on a black stallion to suddenly begin clattering down the street, the wicked steel of his sword glittering in the firelight. The person carrying Zoro, a woman by the sound of it, let out a desperate scream, and she ducked into an alleyway._

_However the thundering sound of hooves striking cobblestone followed them, echoing in the dim corridor. Zoro looked behind them, and his own cry of fear joined the labored pants of the woman as they pelted down the alley towards what they hoped was safety, but it was not to be. With a terrifying neigh, the horse leapt up onto a wall that provided as a walkway to the higher area of the city, and ran alongside them until it jumped from the wall, only to land in front of the woman and child._

"_SURRENDER!" The soldier bellowed._

"_Never!" the woman shrieked "You'll have to kill me first!"_

"_You know I can't do that," the soldier sighed "but I have been given my orders concerning the boy, and I must fulfill my duty."_

"_Your duty?" the woman scoffed with a disdainful sneer "as a traitor?"_

"_I'm sorry," the man said before dismounting and pushing the woman to the ground while ripping Zoro from her grasp._

"_PLEASE!" the woman cried "He's just a baby! You have control of the entire Kingdom, what can a child do to harm you?"_

_Zoro looked up into the face of the soldier, his features shadowed by the flames dancing on nearby building, crafting for him a garish mask, and the child felt himself begin to weep in fear, making the man glance down and a flash of pity rolled through his eyes. _

"_I cannot let him live, but I can spare his life," he finally grunted._

"_What?! What do you mean?! NO! STOP!"_

_Suddenly the man threw him down to the ground, and as the child kicked and shrieked, the last thing he saw was a dark hand looming over his face, filling his entire field of vision until all he saw was pitch black._

"NOOOO!"

Zoro fell off his bunk with a thump completely drenched in cold sweat sending the straw hat fluttering to the floor, and as soon as he hit the ground, scrambled backwards till his back touched the wall. His entire frame shook as he curled up into a ball, wrapping muscular arms around his knees, and his shoulders pumped up and down as he gasped for air. His gaze was unfocused, flames still filling his vision, and he jumped with a sharp cry of fear when he felt someone touch his arm.

"Hey!" a familiar voice shouted, while murmurs of other male voices rustled behind him "Marimo, snap out of it!"

The swordsman's vision cleared, the burning buildings and the endless screaming disappeared, only to be replaced by the dimly lit room of the men's quarters. Zoro felt his body still engulfed in a panic attack, his limbs trembling uncontrollably like he had just taken a swim in sub zero water. He could see Sanji sitting in front of him, and behind him were the concerned faces of his crewmates, the most prominent being Luffy.

"Wha-…" Zoro opened his mouth to talk but unbridled agony exploded behind his eyeballs as the migraine came back full force, punching the man with a wave of nausea.

Zoro scrambled to his feet, in a desperate attempt to run to the bathroom, but only made it about two feet before collapsing again and retching violently onto the floor in painful heaves.

"Zoro," Luffy murmured coming to sit next to his friend and rubbing his back comfortingly as he picked up his hat from the floor "Are you ok?"

The swordsman felt frustrated tears burn in the corners of his eyes and his head drooped exhaustedly to softly thump against the wall "I-I don't…know," he said in a strangled gasp.

"Chopper will fix it," the captain replied confidently "he can fix anything,"

"I hope so," was the tortured reply.

The little reindeer approached Zoro checking his temperature, and various other things "Are you in pain?"

"M-Migraine," Zoro gasped wincing when another pang stabbed his temples "…Hurts…"

Chopper felt his brow furrow in concern before turning to the other men gathered around their suffering comrade "I'm taking him to the med bay, and hopefully I can get some painkillers and sedatives into his system so he can get some sleep."

Sanji nodded, accompanied by the others, and they reluctantly stood up to make room for the doctor to take his patient to the infirmary. The cook and the captain however lingered, both standing in painful helplessness at the situation.

"Is there anything I can do?" Sanji asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah," Chopper nodded "If you don't mind, can you clean up the mess?"

"What about me?" Luffy asked his face a stone mask of worry.

Chopper paused before opening his mouth "You can-"

Suddenly the door burst open and the girls ran in "What happened?" Nami yelled "We heard screaming?"

However one look at the men, plus the struggling swordsman who was lying weakly on the floor propped up by the wall answered their questions and Nami felt her eyes grow wide "What's wrong?"

"Chopper's going to take him to the infirmary to find out," Sanji said softly.

Nami made a move to check on Zoro, but Robin's gentle hand restrained her "Why don't we let Doctor-san do his work, and we'll wait in the galley for news?"

The navigator seemed torn, but finally nodded "Ok, I could use a cup of tea anyway."

Shifting to heavy point, Chopper cradled Zoro in his arms, the man looking horribly fragile in the reindeer's clutches. Walking out of the dormitory with his precious cargo, Chopper left the crew staring lifelessly at the door, each of them battling with their own worries and fears over the fate of the swordsman.

….

Sanji sat at the table, one hand entwined in his hair, the other playing with his pack of cigarettes as he and the other Straw hats awaited news of their companion. Brook was silent, not even twitching, so sullen was he as he sat in his usual spot. Nami and Robin were curled up on the couch, Nami gripping the Archaeologist's hand as they both stared into nothingness, each absorbed in their thoughts. Franky was trying to distract Usopp from going crazy with worry by showing him blueprints for a new invention, but Luffy was not to be distracted or deterred.

The captain of the straw hats sat still as a statue, his arms crossed, and his face serious, all the while waiting for their doctor to return.

When Chopper finally did come back, he was bombarded by a flurry of questions, each aching with the concern that crew member felt for their swordsman.

"How is he?!"

"Is he alright?"

"What's wrong with him?!"

"ENOUGH!" Chopper yelled rubbing his temples with his little hooves "Zoro is suffering from severe exhaustion, plus the chronic migraine that's been plaguing him for the past two days. He just needs some rest, and he'll be fine."

"Is he sick?" Luffy asked softly, speaking the question running through their minds.

"No," Chopper shook his head mournfully "to be honest, I think he's just really stressed out, and his nerves are so strained from lack of sleep and mental exhaustion that he had a breakdown tonight."

"Stressed?" Nami wondered aloud "But what does Zoro have to be stressed about? We've been docked and haven't experienced any problems for almost three days...unless..." The navigator whirled around to face Sanji her features an angry storm cloud "Could this possibly be connected to Zoro's _mysterious _nosebleed yesterday?"

Sanji bit his lip, and let out a mournful sigh, knowing full well that Zoro would kill him later for doing this, but now that this thing was messing with his physical health the cook couldn't keep silent "I think I may know," he said softly.

"So you know what's been going on with Zoro," Nami growled "and you've been keeping it from us?"

"More or less," the blond shrugged.

"Maybe we should sit down," Franky offered in an attempt to redirect the conversation before it escalated into a fight "I have a feeling this might take a while."

Everyone nodded, and soon the crew was seated around the table, looking at the cook with expectant faces waiting for him to begin his tale.

"It began a couple days ago," the blond muttered uncomfortable with the stares he was getting from his crew "Zoro said that since we docked here he's been getting weird flashes, pictures of places he's never been, and dreams at night of things he doesn't remember and people he's never met."

"Like who?" Usopp asked quietly.

Sanji felt a growl of discomfort ring in the bottom of his throat before answering "Like…his mother…"

"But why would that be a big deal?" Franky asked "Is it so odd that people would dream about their parents?"

"It's weird, because Zoro doesn't remember who he was when he was a kid," Luffy murmured quietly from where he sat.

Gasps echoed around the table and the cook whirled around to face his captain "Whoa, wait," Sanji asked "you know?"

"Oh great," Nami cried throwing her hands up into the air with exaggerated exasperation "Luffy knows too, what are we, chopped liver?"

"Zoro told me," Luffy replied his face serious ignoring his navigator's outburst.

"When?!" Sanji barked.

The raven haired boy merely smiled softly "Yesterday I forced him to talk, he wasn't happy about it."

"Yeah, he rarely is," Sanji snorted at Nami's indignant huff on the other side of the table before continuing "at any rate,apparently whenever he sees these images, they always come with a migraine, and as you saw tonight, they aren't very pleasant."

"So, these flashes you spoke of," Robin murmured "could they possibly be…repressed memories, from Kenshi-san's past?"

"That's what I think, Zoro's in denial though," Sanji said with a humorless smirk "he refuses to believe that this place could be where he's from, even though he doesn't have any memory of who he was before seven years old."

"It would make sense," Chopper replied "repressed memories often cause headaches when they resurface, and if Zoro's memories were traumatizing enough, it would be only natural for them to take a violent toll on his body as they try to come back."

"I'd be willing to bet they were traumatizing," Usopp muttered unhappily with a shudder "I've never seen, much less heard, Zoro scream before. He's never looked scared, or acted like he wanted to run away, but tonight? Tonight he was all of those things, he looked terrified, and when Sanji touched his arm, he screamed like he thought Sanji was trying to kill him. It just…It just doesn't feel right to see Zoro acting like that."

Chopper nodded "I think the only reason for his behavior, is when a person regains a lost memory, they live through it again as if it were the first time. Zoro didn't know where, or maybe even who he was at that moment, he was completely caught up in that memory."

"So what do we do?" Nami asked in a tremulous voice "I mean is there _anything_ we can do?"

At this the reindeer gave a grieved sigh "Unfortunately no, all we can do is be a support and comfort for Zoro as his memories come back. It's going to be painful for him, but in the end it has to happen for him to live a healthy life. Repressing memories, though a mechanism created by our minds to protect us, is never meant to be permanent. Eventually we are always supposed to face those demons when we're ready, and come to terms with our past."

At this the crew sighed, none of them happy with the answer, but Luffy gave a wide grin "Is Zoro ok?"

Chopper cocked his head at his captain before nodding "Physically, yeah. I mean, now that we know what's wrong, we know what to do when Zoro starts to get a headache and can be there for him when he experiences more flashbacks."

"Then that's what we're going to do," Luffy said with his trademark laugh "we're nakama, and nakama stick together no matter what, right?"

"Unless they're keeping secrets from each other," Nami pouted making Sanji wince as he remembered an even bigger secret he was keeping for the swordsman.

"Nami," Luffy jutted out his bottom lip and his brow came together in an unhappy furrow.

The navigator continued pouting until she saw Luffy's version of puppy dog eyes, and finally relented "Fine," she sighed waving one hand "We're nakama, and nakama stick together."

The crew smiled at their captain, confidence and happiness making their shoulders lighter, and as one they pumped a fist shouting back with all their strength "RIGHT!"

**What can I say, I'm addicted to fluff…**

**REVIEW please!**


	7. Last Meal

**I am so happy to see how much all of you are enjoying my story. Here is the latest chapter!**

**Disclaimer; I own nothing.**

Deep in dungeons beneath the palace, a lone figure walked down a seemingly abandoned grey stone hallway, lit only by the occasional flickering torch. Silk skirts swished as the figure walked, and the firelight glistened off blonde hair, while delicate lily white hands held a silver tray loaded with food. The red lips, that in times past usually held a coy smirk, were nothing more than a grim slash, the edges quivering with barely concealed anguish. Stepping into the light at the end of the hall, the figure, a woman adorned in a purple dress and glistening jewels, held her head high as she glared haughtily at the guards standing on either side of a cell door.

"I'm here to provide the prisoner with his last meal before his trial in the morning,"

The guards merely nodded wordlessly before opening the cell door, and stepping aside to give the woman relative privacy, before the lady walked into the dimly lit chamber.

Within the cell hung a man, his arms stretched out on either side of him by chains, his knees biting into the grit of the stone floor. Long green hair hung on either side of his face, and an unruly beard grew on his chin and jaw line. However the man still sported ropy muscles and his body was lean as a whip, and just as agile. The woman smiled at the frame she had memorized years previously, and knelt in front of him, gently placing the tray down on the floor with a gentle clink.

"Hello my love," she whispered.

The man slowly looked up, green eyes piercing into the woman's very soul making her shiver the same way she did when they first met "_Bella Rosa_," he murmured "my beautiful yellow rose,"

"And you," she laughed softly taking his face into her hands and caressing his cheek with her thumb "my brave emerald lion, my one true love."

"I'm so sorry beloved," the man rasped, his eyes welling with hot tears heavy with regret "I'm so sorry that I could not protect you, that I could not keep my promise to you, that we would grow old together, and be buried side by side by our tree where we first met."

"Hush," the blonde soothed holding back a choked sob "I will not hear such talk from you, it isn't over yet, it can't be!"

"Maybe if I had protected our son better, and ensured his survival, then maybe it would be," the man sighed "but unfortunately I failed him, just as I have failed you, my dearest Angeline."

"Oh Fierro," Angeline sighed touching foreheads with her husband "you failed no one, we were betrayed, it is as simple as that."

Fierro rubbed his face against his wife's, trying to embrace her when he physically could not "I fail you every moment I hang here like a weakling, put on display like a piece of meat,"

Suddenly a true smile lit the woman's face, and a mischievous twinkle glittered in her almond eyes "Well you're the most handsome piece of meat I've ever seen," she purred "especially considering you have been in prison since Grugen took over and you're supposed to be chained 24/7, so I'm wondering how you've managed to maintain that body of yours."

Fierro let out a dark laugh, his lips twisting into a cocky smirk "The guards here are technically loyal to the crown, enough to allow me time to stretch my muscles during the day, but apparently not enough to help me escape. I guess the Celestial Dragons scare our military more than I would like."

"Figures," Angeline rolled her eyes, before giving her lover a wry smile "not even prison can keep you from your insane training schedule."

Fierro leaned forward placing a soft kiss on her velvet lips, lingering for just a moment before touching foreheads again "It keeps my mind off things, things I'd rather not think about,"

"I worry about our daughter," Angeline whispered her brown eyes growing serious "I fear that she is involved with the resistance."

Fierro barked out a laugh before giving his wife a lopsided smile "Knowing my baby girl, she's _running_ the resistance!"

The blonde gave a frustrated groan, burying her face into her hands "Why did she turn out like you, why can't she be more like me?!"

"Oh you mean, stubborn, hot headed, and the type who refuses to tell a living soul she's feeling pain to the point that she would practically go through the entire labor and have the baby on her own without ever alerting the midwife," the man smirked evilly "_that_ kind of woman?"

Angeline pinned her husband with a stern glare before heaving a sigh "God only knows what our son would have been like," she finally chuckled as she admitted her defeat.

"He'd be a magnificent prince with the courage and intelligence of his mother," the man smiled.

The blonde woman returned his smile "And the strength and character of his father,"

Fierro laughed gently before his wife felt a choked sob ball up in her throat "This is all my fault," she gasped in a tormented wheeze.

The man gave a frustrated huff before giving her his own sardonic glare "What have I told you? None, and I do mean _none_, of this is your fault."

"But it is!" Angeline insisted twin tears tumbling down her cheeks "I saw Grugen talking to the Celestial Dragons on the den den mushi, and I could feel that something was wrong. I should have told you instead of keeping silent like a coward. Because of my ignorance, I bear the burden of our son's death, our daughter's involvement with the resistance, your imprisonment, and soon your death. I'm at fault, and you cannot convince me otherwise!"

Fierro gave a grieved sigh "Beloved, I do not blame you, I never have. And if I am to die tomorrow, I will hold my head high and die an honorable death without fear or begging."

"You and your honor," Angeline laughed through her tears wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close "but if not for that, I wouldn't love you nearly as much. If you are to die, know that you take my heart with you."

The man bit his lip, trying to maintain his composure and be strong for his wife "So," he said softly trying to distract the woman "how about that food?"

"Oh," Angeline's eyes grew wide as she drew away "that's right, I had forgotten."

"So what is the news of the outside world?" Fierro asked when his wife released him and began to prepare the tray.

"The country is preparing for our Kingdom's anniversary festival," the woman replied in an annoyed grumble "and Grugen rides through the streets like a conquering hero, spreading his propaganda that you were a traitor King. No one even questions his logic, save the members of the resistance."

"Sounds fantastic," Fierro growled rolling his eyes as he accepted a spoonful of soup "if only I were out I'd rub his smug little face in a pile of horse poo. He deserves it."

"On that, I wholeheartedly agree," Angeline snickered drily.

"There's something else, isn't there?" The man asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the blonde replied flippantly wiping her husband's face with a napkin.

Fierro gave a derisive snort "Spill it woman," he growled playfully "you know you can't lie to me, I know you too well for that."

"Well," Angeline sighed as she paused, putting the bowl and spoon down "there is something that has sent our soldiers and Grugen into a tizzy, and I didn't want to bring it up because honestly, it is quite simply all too preposterous!"

"Tell me,"

The command, simple and soft, yet it bid her to continue with an authority more commanding than any army could ever hope to achieve "There was a young man spotted in the market," she whispered casting a paranoid glance over her shoulder "and Grugen has commanded his immediate capture."

"What's so special about this kid?" Fierro asked one eyebrow rising towards his hairline.

"According to reports, he had…green hair."

The man's green eyes widened and his jaw fell "How old was he?"

"His early twenties, best guess," Angeline replied.

The man's gaze fell to the floor, and the gears in his brain were going at full speed "They never did find a body, did they?"

"Well no," the lady shook her head with a sorrowful sigh "but how can we even dare to hope?"

"We can because that's what we do," Fierro said a smile suddenly creeping across his face and his eyes brightening with a warrior's fire "we bow to no one, and I can ensure you that tomorrow I will not meet the blade of the executioner. I'm feeling fired up my love, and I am willing to bet that tomorrow there will be a battle, and our son will be the one leading the charge."

Angeline raised one eyebrow before chuckling softly and shaking her head fondly "Your hope is what keeps me going beloved,"

"Just one more day, Angeline," Fierro smiled maliciously "one more day, and I will either be dead, or living a dream I never thought would come to pass."

"Let us pray for the latter you sword crazy fool," the woman spat folding her arms with a huff "honestly the way you are so blatantly, and proudly I might add, addicted to battle, it isn't appropriate for a King!"

"Hmm," the man purred sending an evil smirk across to his wife "there have been many things I've done that wasn't appropriate for a King, such as marry a woman who had no ties to any form of royalty or nobility in any way shape or form, but I think that was a decision worth making, don't you?"

Angeline tried to keep her composure, soon found herself laughing at the man she was so deeply in love with "Touché my love,"

Fierro smiled at his wife before giving an experimental tug on the chains holding his arms and groaning with impatient aggravation "When I get out of here," he growled "I'm going on vacation, somewhere warm and sunny, with a beach and plenty to eat."

"Don't forget your hammock," the woman said snidely "because heaven knows you'll sleep the entire time."

"Ah hammock naps," the man sighed softly "I miss those; I remember when I used to take them out in the courtyard with our son sleeping on my chest."

"Yes," Angeline nodded with a playful smirk "our court got rather used to seeing you sleeping with our son in the grass."

"He loved it!" Fierro squawked indignantly.

"He did," the woman said flicking her husband's forehead with a finger with a pout "so much so that he refused to take his naps in the nursery, and insisted on sleeping outside with you! And what was worse is that you would skip out on important government meetings in order to take those naps!"

Fierro shrugged uncaringly "Eventually the meetings were planned around the time I spent with my son, I still think it was a worthy investment."

"More like you were teaching him to be a lazy bum," Angeline retorted.

"first you wanted him to have a regular sleep schedule, and then you didn't want him to have a regular sleep schedule, I'm confused!"

The woman threw her hands up in the air in exasperation "The naps were fine when he was a baby, but when he began his tutelage to be a prince at seven, he was falling asleep in class. _That_ is when it became a problem."

Fierro sent his wife an endearing pout "So you would really have deprived his dear old dad valuable father/son bonding time, all because some stuffy tutor isn't capable of holding his attention?"

Angeline glared at him before standing with a huff "Oh, I give up! It is absolutely impossible to argue with you, you never let anyone have the last word!"

"I do," Fierro grinned petulantly "but only if I'm wrong, which is rare, and only if someone earns the right to have it, which also doesn't happen all that much."

"Well as your wife, you'd think I'd get certain privileges," the woman said with an indignant sniff.

"Nah," Fierro suddenly guffawed "being my wife only makes our fights that much more interesting, not to mention, fun!"

Angeline gave a squawk then stomped out of the room, the sound of her husband's laughter echoing behind her as she strode out of the dungeons and back towards her living quarters.

**So what do you guys think? Thought you'd like a little insight on the King and Queen since you already met the princess.**

**REVIEW!**


	8. Destiny

**So chapter 6…can't believe we're already here, but I must say it feels good to finally write this story. It's been bugging me for months!**

When Zoro came to the first thing he noticed was that for the first time in almost a week his migraine was practically nonexistent. With a soft moan, he lifted himself off the mattress, and scrubbed his face with one hand. Looking around, the man puzzled through why he was in the med bay, and not in his room, but remembering nothing from the night before he could only shrug his shoulders and decide to investigate on the whereabouts of his nakama. Swinging his legs over the bed, Zoro stood, pausing when dizziness slapped him across the face causing his vision to go black. However after a few moments, he was fine, and the swordsman was walking out of the med bay and towards the deck where he heard the sounds of his crew.

Opening the door, Zoro walked across the deck, stretching his arms above his head only to be tackled by a flying ball of rubber.

"ZOOROOO!" Luffy screamed as the boy drug his swordsman to the ground in an enthusiastic hug "I was just coming back to see you, I'm so happy you're ok!"

Zoro choked as he struggled to regain the air that had been knocked out of him by Luffy's landing "G-Good to see…you too…captain,"

Standing up, the swordsman looked down only to find his captain still wrapped around him in a tight embrace. Wiggling a little bit, he tried to dislodge the devil fruit eater, but found that anything short of a knife wouldn't help him gain freedom; so with a shrug and a yawn, he plus the captain, walked across the wooden planks and into the galley where he found the rest of his crew.

"ZORO!" was the unanimous cry and the man felt his eye go wide with surprise.

"What is with everyone today?" He grumbled "You guys are creeping me out."

"You mean," Usopp paused looking over at Nami in order to give her a questioning glance before turning back to Zoro "you don't remember last night?"

"Don't remember what about last night?" Zoro asked one eyebrow rising towards his hairline as his heart turned back flips with dread.

"You fell out of bed crying," Luffy explained as he climbed off his swordsman and began to tell the abridged version of the night before "and then Sanji tried to touch you, and you screamed really loud. Then you puked because you had a migraine, and Chopper took you to the infirmary."

Zoro's jaw fell open in shock, and his one good eye widened almost big as a dish plate. He remembered having another nightmare, even remembered what it was about, but he had to admit that everything else after it was a bit fuzzy. He knew it was odd to wake up in the med bay, and he honestly didn't know why he had been put there, but now if what Luffy said was true (and it had to be) that meant that he drug everyone into what he had hoped to keep secret.

"Uh…"

Nami walked up to the shell shocked swordsman, and place a cool hand against his cheek before giving a relieved smile "You don't feel feverish, that's good, we were worried about you."

Zoro shook his head still trying to process just what was happening when Luffy piped up again, spilling more secrets that he wished would never had come out in the open "Yeah," the captain chirped "after yesterday when you got that crazy nose bleed I was a little worried, but then last night when you screamed and puked, I got _really_ worried."

"Actually, when I think about it," Chopper began calmly turning to Sanji "nosebleeds are consistent with repressed memories resurfacing."

"R-Re-Repressed memories," Zoro stammered dumbly before his mind cleared and his eye narrowed pinning a burning gaze on the cook who was currently hiding behind Franky "YOU?!"

"Look Zoro," Sanji chuckled nervously as he ran around Franky, going from side to side as Zoro tried to get at him from around the cyborg "you started bleeding in the street, and then you woke up screaming, and to make matters worse…you PUKED! I panicked!"

"So you told everyone?!" The swordsman snarled before sending a venomous glare to his captain "And you didn't stop him?!"

Luffy shrugged "Nakama don't keep secrets."

Zoro felt a twinge in his heart over the one secret he was still keeping from Luffy but covered it up with an unhappy pout "Still, I didn't want anyone knowing because I knew everyone would make a big deal out of it!"

"Oh just deal with it Marimo," Sanji growled with a longsuffering sigh "the cat's out of the bag, stop pouting and move on."

"Awfully bold," Zoro snarled "for a man who just signed his death warrant by flapping his fat lips!"

"Hey!" Sanji bellowed slamming his foot on the table top with his hands firmly shoved in his pockets "I was just trying to make sure you didn't kill yourself!"

The swordsman sent a grin loaded with bloodlust at the blond "You should worry more about yourself, dartboard brow."

"ZORO!" Luffy bellowed just as Zoro pounced towards the cook, causing the green haired man to immediately freeze in his tracks "Don't hurt my cook!"

"But-But-But!" Zoro tried, but Luffy wouldn't hear of it, and the swordsman sat down in his chair and crossed his arms with a huff.

"Come on Zoro," Luffy pouted "if you kill Sanji then no more meat."

The swordsman jutted out his bottom lip in a pout loaded with sheer petulance as he sunk in his chair looking for all the world like a sulky teenager "Whatever," he muttered after seeing that all hope of revenge was futile if it meant endangering the life of Luffy's personal chef.

"Since Zoro's awake," Nami chuckled once the monster trio had calmed down "and he seems to be doing so well, why don't we relax and go to the festival?"

"YEAH!" Luffy jumped in "They'll have meat and I can eat as much as I want, right Nami?!"

The navigator rolled her eyes before waving a dismissive hand "Fine,"

"NICE!"

….

Within less than an hour the crew was walking down the main street of the plaza, and all were wide eyed with wonder at the festivities. Everywhere they looked there were countless colorful booths, while bright streamers and balloons floated through the air.

"Look!" Chopper squealed excitedly tugging at Robin's hand "Cotton Candy!"

The Archaeologist chuckled "Would you like some Doctor-san?"

"May I?" the reindeer chirped.

Not far from where the crew stood chuckling over Chopper's childish glee, an old woman stood carrying a letter when suddenly she glanced through the crowd only to have her gaze widen in shock. With movements fueled by desperation, she pushed and shoved her way through the masses until she finally was in the midst of the group who had caught her eye, and most specifically, the young man in the black bandana.

Zoro was laughing with his crew when a stranger's hand grasped his chin, and he whirled around to see an old woman who was reaching for his cheek "Fierro?"

"What?" Zoro gasped sending a nervous glance to his crew, taking a couple steps away from the old woman "I think you've got the wrong guy lady."

The woman suddenly lunged forward, ripping the bandana off his head, only to gasp when she saw his hair "Fierro," she said suddenly beginning to sob "it is you, it's me Nanny, you're old nurse, I've known you since you were born, even helped bring you into this world, please say that you remember me?!"

"Do you know her?" Luffy asked his face confused as he looked between the woman and the green haired man.

"Of course not!" The swordsman stepped away, his migraine once again beginning to grow in intensity, and he shook his head "Get away from me," he snapped "I don't know you, and I have no clue who you're talking about either!"

"Fierro, please, just come with me," the woman cried tugging on his shirt.

"Easy there lady," Franky said pushing the woman away from Zoro as gently as he could "I think you've got our nakama mixed up with someone else."

"I have not, He is Fierro, the boy I cared for and loved from the time he was born," the woman spat shoving her way around the cyborg "now move aside, I have to speak to him!"

"No, I don't want to talk to you, just leave me alone!" Zoro grimaced as his headache built into a stronger wave of agony.

"No Fierro, listen to me-!" Nanny cried.

"Stop calling me that!" Zoro bellowed "My name is Roronoa Zoro!"

"Your name is Fierro!" Nanny wept rushing forward so to stretch bony arms in the attempt to grab the swordsman by the front of his shirt "You were lost to us fourteen years ago when you were just a child of seven, I know who you are!"

Agony sliced the back of Zoro's eyeballs, and he gripped his head with one hand as he gave a harsh wince "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Please I beg of you, just listen to me, you alone hold the key to save us, we need you!" the nurse practically screamed.

Blood once again began to flow from Zoro's nose and the pounding headache caused his vision to throb and blur, and much to the swordsman's chagrin, his knees buckled when a particularly violent stab sent his senses into extreme vertigo.

"ZORO!"

The moss headed man struggled to bring air into his lungs, vaguely noting that he was basically passed out on the street, both hands gripping his head. He heard the sounds of his crew yelling as they panicked, their voices seeming far away as if they were shouting into a raging windstorm from a far off hillside.

But suddenly out of nowhere, a strong unfamiliar hand gripped his arm, only to be slapped away by the hand of his captain "What are you doing?" Luffy cried in outrage "Leave my swordsman alone!"

Luffy stood protectively over his fallen nakama fuming with anger, his fists clenched tight enough to draw blood, and his cobalt gaze burning like twin coals "I won't let you hurt him!"

A man in a soldier's uniform and chestnut hair gave a longsuffering sigh before pinning a somewhat bemused glare at the old woman "Nanny," the man scolded softly "what happened to keeping a low profile? You've been doing so well, I thought you had understood the concept."

Nanny had the grace to blush before stammering her reply "Well what would you do if _you_ saw the spitting image of the man you're trying to rescue, only twenty years younger, standing in the market as neat as you please? I knew it was Fierro I did, and bless my soul, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I let the one boy who I've missed and prayed for all these years just lark off like it doesn't matter a whit! I tell you Ballin, what _would_ you do?!"

Ballin merely chuckled "Well for one thing I would invite them to my house for lunch and civilized conversation, not propel myself at them like some kind of possessed harpy!"

"Hmph!" Nanny huffed "See that's what I get for serving the kingdom all these years, and now that we've found our lost boy, you're treating me like a dimwitted schoolgirl! I've got years on you brat, _YEARS_, so don't be acting all high and mighty on me Ballin!"

The soldier let out a derisive snort but could not hide the grin that lit his face, and instead turned to Luffy "I'm sorry that we don't make much sense, but I can promise we will not hurt your friend."

Luffy narrowed his eyes, searching the man's face, looking for any hint of ill intent towards his nakama; however his eyes could find no such thing, nor could his heart discern any evil within the stranger's spirit. "Fine," he nodded slowly.

"Good," the soldier smiled gently "for now, we need to move Fier- I mean, _Zoro_ to a safe place. We can take him to a place I know that will be perfect, and we can take care of introductions there."

"Ugh," a low moan came from below making Luffy whirl around.

"Zoro!" the captain exclaimed "Are you ok?"

The swordsman gave a weak nod, wincing when the motion made his head throb "Is the crazy lady gone?"

"HEY!" Nanny squawked.

"I'll take that as a no," Zoro sighed before slowly picking himself off the ground.

"Easy there Marimo," Sanji murmured leaning down to grab Zoro's arm and help haul him to his feet "don't want to risk any more brain damage on what little you have left."

"Shut up nose bleed," Zoro bit with a less than menacing glare.

Sanji snickered "Well if we're being technical, that position is currently being held by you, moss head."

Zoro let out a snarl, but was slapped by another wave of vertigo, making him sway on his feet "Just you wait dartboard brow," the swordsman pouted "you better sleep with one eye open tonight."

"Oh, I'm shaking in my shoes," Sanji said in mock terror before throwing his head back and laughing.

"I swear," Nanny chuckled "the two of you could be brothers by the way you act."

"ME?! BROTHERS WITH HIM?!" came the unanimous reply sending the group into laughter from the over dramatic looks of disgusted horror.

"If you are all quite done?" the captain asked, his mouth twitching in barely concealed amusement.

Finally it seemed they were ready to move and the man gave a satisfied nod "Right, follow me."

Franky snickered as they began to follow the soldier before leaning down to Usopp and saying in a low voice "Come with me if you want to live,"

**Yay! So, it seems that Zoro has finally met someone that knows who he is!**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	9. Picture's worth 1,000 Words

**Things are finally heating up, time to get Zoro his memories back!**

The crew walked down several alleyways until they came to a small door that opened into a stairway leading down to a basement. The soldier led them down the stairs, careful to keep an eye on the crew as they walked in behind him, his heart hammering in his chest as he sincerely hoped no one had seen them or followed.

Finally after an extremely long dark hallway, the crew was shown into a room that was lined with bookshelves, and tapestries, with an imposing fireplace on the back wall "Welcome to the headquarters of the resistance."

Luffy gaped with awestruck eyes "Wow! A mystery room! Cool!"

The soldier smirked before turning around and giving a graceful bow "My name is Ballin, I am the captain of the royal guard and right hand man to Grugen."

"SAY WHAT?!" The crew screamed.

Nanny laughed, her hands covering her stomach before chuckling out an explanation "He is only in that position as a spy, he is our main ally in the fight against the traitor king."

"OH!" the group once again said unanimously.

"So then, who are you?" Nami asked.

Nanny smiled "My name is Nanny, at least that is what everyone calls me, my real name is Mathilde, but I prefer Nanny."

Robin smiled "It's a pleasure to meet you,"

"Well, it's a pleasure meeting you lot, that's for sure!" Nanny laughed happily "especially since I got to see my boy again after so long!"

"Yeah, bringing up that topic," Franky said crossing his arms.

"How exactly is it that you know Zoro?" Sanji finished lighting a cigarette and then shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Why, didn't you hear me?" Nanny asked before smiling gently and walking over to Zoro to pat him lovingly on the cheek "I was his old nurse! I helped his mother the night he was born, and was the one who cared for him till he was seven years old!"

"So you know who his parents are?!" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Of course I do!" Nanny stated with a firm nod "They're-!"

"WHOA, wait!" Zoro interrupted "We don't even know that you're right! For all we know, you could have me seriously confused with someone else!"

Nanny scowled at the man for breaking in when she was talking "I know who you are my boy, because you look exactly like your father did at your age!"

"I do have to admit," Ballin chuckled "the resemblance is uncanny, I feel like I stepped back in time and am meeting my old friend for the first time all over again."

Zoro grit his teeth letting out a growl "I'm _not_ who you think I am, I don't care how much I look like whoever this person is, it's not me!"

"Oh yes you are!" Nanny harrumphed "let me ask you this question, do you have any memory from before you were seven?"

The swordsman gave an unhappy scowl before heaving a sigh "No,"

"That's because you are the young man who we lost fourteen years ago," Ballin murmured "allow us to prove it to you?"

Zoro paused as he gave a heavy swallow, but then he growled "…Start talking…"

Ballin smiled, gesturing for the crew to sit down, waiting to start speaking until they had though Zoro insisted on standing, his arms crossed while an unhappy suspicious glare was directed at the Captain of the Guard. The soldier merely chuckled at the swordsman's distrust, a sudden burst of nostalgia causing his eyes to mist over with memories from when he was younger and just a trainee in the military.

"I've known and been a close friend of the King since we were children," the man began "we met when he was a prince who hated staying within the walls of the palace, and I was a punk who dreamed of something greater than the alley I grew up in. He would sneak out of the palace, and that was when we became friends, we would cause trouble together running the streets fighting the strongest gangs in the city until the Crown Prince had gained the loyalty of the underworld by becoming the undisputed champion over all the territories."

"AMAZING!" Luffy grinned "Sounds like an awesome king!"

"He certainly was that," Ballin smiled "fourteen years ago, I had just been promoted to the Royal Guard, and Grugen was still just a lower level count. I was a spineless coward, and because of this, Grugen was able to prey on my mind, manipulating me to do his bidding. It was because of this that he was able to force me into aiding him in overthrowing the kingdom."

"Wait," Nami exploded her face as shocked as it was indignant "are you saying you betrayed the man you just claimed to be your best friend?!"

Ballin paused giving a grieved sigh "This is not something I'm proud of," he muttered with a wince of guilt "I helped Grugen because he somehow had ties with the Celestial Dragons, and in a moment of sheer stupidity, my fear of the World Government overrode my friendship with the King, but I have long been working on making amends."

"Ballin has been feeding us information from within the Count's deepest council," Nanny smiled gently "it's because of him that we have been able to come up with a plan of action that could dethrone the traitor king, and put the True King back in the palace!"

"The leader of our resistance is none other than the princess, Fiona Lionhart," the soldier added "she has feigned loyalty to the Count by agreeing to become his bride. However if all goes well, by the festival any chances of marriage between the two will be nullified, and Count Grugen will be gone."

"While this is interesting and all," Nami said with an impatient huff "what does it have to do with Zoro?"

"Everything," Nanny said softly.

Ballin stood and walked over to the fireplace, the flames reflected in his gaze "You see, the night the Celestial Dragons attacked with their armada, Grugen had given me a very specific job, one that gave me the push I needed to grow from spineless coward, to a man who would stand against a tyrant in the shadows as a spy to the resistance."

"What was the job?" Usopp quavered.

"I was ordered to assassinate a young boy," Ballin said turning his burning gaze to Zoro "a very special boy, one who could stop Grugen's plan in their tracks."

"And what kind of boy can do that?" Nami scoffed "Can't be just any kid off the street."

"No, no indeed it can't," Ballin chuckled "but this boy wasn't by any means just any boy off the street."

"So what did you do?" Chopper asked excitedly.

"He was taken by his old nurse," the soldier smirked "a devious woman with no small amount of spirit. She carried him through the city, even while it was burning, her sole intent was to board the closest merchant ship, and escape."

Zoro felt his chest constrict tighter and tighter as he listened, and the nightmares he had up to that point flooded his mind "She turned into an alleyway," he said in a numb whisper, careful not to let his crew overhear his words.

"Yes," Nanny breathed, her eyes sparkling "you remember?"

Zoro's face flushed before turning his face away "…Maybe…It could be nothing," he muttered.

Nanny rolled her eyes and jabbed him in the side with one elbow as she whispered back "Lord above you're stubborn, a trait I'm sorry to say you got from your father."

Ballin continued "At any rate, I chased them down, and eventually captured the boy."

Nanny nodded "You were such a brute that night, but when the child began to cry, I could tell by the way you looked at him that you didn't have the heart to kill him."

The soldier nodded with a fond smile "True enough, I was no match for a little boy's tears."

"So…" Usopp cut in "if you didn't kill him, what _did _you do?"

Ballin looked at the sniper "To put it simply, I took his memories."

"His memories?" Brook murmured his jaw falling open in shock.

"How did you do that?" Nami asked softly.

"I ate a devil fruit, one that allows me to capture the memories of others, and trap them within an object." Ballin explained "And so with the boy in front of me, so young with so much life ahead of him, I didn't want him to die. Instead I took his memories, and trapped them within a specific object, leaving the boy without any knowledge of whom or what he is. After that it was a simple matter of paying a merchant ship to grant him safe passage to the farthest point of their trade route, and take him to a place where he could grow and thrive without any fear of death."

"Where did they take him?" Zoro asked in a hoarse croak.

The soldier turned to Zoro, his face solemn "To East Blue, Shimotsuki Village I believe."

The green haired man felt like he had been slapped "You can't…it's not…This can't be possible," he gasped rocking back on his heels and stumbling a few steps back before he hit a nearby wall.

"It can," Nanny replied placing a soft hand on his arm giving it a comforting squeeze "because it is, everything we said is the truth,"

"Zoro," Ballin sighed walking over to the young man "_you_ were that little boy, _you_ were the child that Grugen feared so much he ordered your execution, and _you_ are the boy who I took memories from and put on a merchant ship to save your life."

"B-But," the swordsman gasped, suddenly feeling claustrophobic as one muscular hand gripped his chest "WHY?!"

"I think it's time you told him his true name, Ballin," Nanny murmured.

"I agree," the soldier nodded.

Walking back to the fireplace, Ballin took a handful of the tapestry hanging overhead, and cast a determined gaze on the gasping swordsman "Zoro, underneath this tapestry is the object that I locked your memories in, once you look on it, they will be released back to you."

Zoro felt his one good eye widen as his gaze snapped to the tapestry "I'll remember…who I am?"

"You'll remember everything," Nanny smiled.

"But I don't understand," Zoro spoke hesitantly, his limbs shaking as he struggled to keep himself from hyperventilating "why did Grugen want to kill me? Why was I so special?"

Ballin smiled, before giving a mighty tug, ripping the tapestry off its hinges and revealing what it had been hiding "Because," the soldier barked with a confident grin "your true name is Fierro Coltello Lionhart the Tenth, Crown Prince and heir to the throne!"

Zoro was slammed by a million sounds, smells, and images as he looked at the portrait of the royal family. There on the right stood the King, forest green hair topped glittering emerald eyes, while his regal frame was clothed in a flowing green cape, while a pure white shirt with a green silk band ran from shoulder to hip decorated his torso, and a beautiful sword was sheathed at his side. At the left, seated on a chair, was a beautiful woman with blond hair, and dancing chocolate brown eyes. She was adorned in a dress made of white silk, while on her lap was a little girl in pink, and on her right standing beside his father, the King's hand resting on one shoulder, was a boy of seven years with green hair and a small sword hanging from his belt.

The crew gasped at the revelation, but their attention immediately went to the images flowing from the portrait, pictures and scenes from Zoro's childhood.

One had a moment where the king was sparring with his son, the boy only had one sword, but the king fought with three. Another showed Zoro being forced into a tea party with his younger sister, surrounded by stuffed animals. The Straw Hats saw a young Zoro running through the gardens, sliding down banisters, and sneaking food from the kitchen. They even were able to witness Zoro being allowed to sit on the throne on his father's knee as the King allowed the citizens of his land to enter the throne room and make requests of their ruling monarch.

Finally the images came to an end, each one floating over to where Zoro stood trembling against the wall, and were absorbed into his body. Ballin walked over to where the swordsman was standing, and immediately knelt in front of the man, one fist clenched as it rested on the floor next to his foot, and the soldier bowed his head low.

"My Prince," he spoke in a solemn tone "it is my honor to serve you,"

Zoro's jaw was slack with shock, and he shook his head softly before turning his gaze up to his crewmates "This…is too weird,"

Suddenly the swordsman's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his knees buckled sending Zoro to the floor. As Ballin and certain members of his crew cried out for fear of the man's health, the last thing Zoro heard before he surrendered to the darkness was the uproarious laughter of his captain as Luffy exclaimed that Zoro needed a royal nap.

**dunDunDUNNN!**

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	10. The next Step

**The next chapter of Son of the Lion! Well, looks like Zoro has finally learned who his real identity is, let's see where this goes.**

"A _prince_?!"

Nami sighed, giving a fond smile at the cook and his obvious displeasure "Sanji-kun," she murmured softly "that's the fifth time you said that."

"And I'm still as shocked as I was when I said it the first time!" the blond spluttered "I mean, I was expecting a lot of things, especially considering the situation, but this wasn't even on the list of things I thought might happen."

"I have to agree with Cook-bro on that one," Franky grinned "when I look at sword-bro, the last thing I think most definitely isn't prince."

"Shishishi!" Luffy snickered "I wouldn't want any less for the Pirate King's crew!"

Robin chuckled softly "I've always thought Zoro rather princely."

"Oh yeah, like how he guzzles down booze," Usopp cackled.

"Or eats his food like a rabid wolf," Sanji put in drily.

"Or lies around snoring on the grass," Nami stated.

"Enough!" Nanny slapped the floor from where she sat "I will not hear any more insults about our Crown Prince!"

"It's ok," Zoro smirked tiredly before wincing sharply "they don't mean any harm, it's how they show affection."

The crew smiled at the swordsman from where he lay on the couch he had been placed on after he had passed out, now suffering a mild fever and migraine from the return of his memories, and Ballin shook his head at the young prince's fortitude. To be honest, any time he had returned multiple years worth of memories to others after they had been gone for a long period of time, they had suffered intense fevers for well over a week afterward. But this man, this Prince in every meaning of the word, was not only recovering in the space of an hour but able to think and speak coherently. This was unheard of, and had the old captain not been seeing it for himself, he would have vehemently denied that it could happen.

"At any rate," Ballin finally spoke from his spot near the fire "we have very little time, the King Fierro Lionhart's trial is soon to take place, and we need to decide on what we're going to do."

"We're going to stop it!" Nanny squawked "Are you so simple minded that you can't even figure that out?"

"What I meant, is _how_ we're going to stop it," The old captain chuckled giving the woman a playful glare "it's not like we can just barge into the trial and demand the throne back."

"Why not?"

The simple question caused everyone to look at the end of the table, only to see the captain with features painted by pure innocence, but those who knew him best saw the mischievous glint shimmering in his eyes "Why can't we do that?" Luffy persisted.

"B-Because!" Ballin stammered his eyes growing wide with shock "It would be suicide!"

"Are you calling my crew weak?" Suddenly the innocent gaze turned hard, and the cobalt eyes burned with a simmering fury.

"No, of course not!" the Captain exclaimed both hands rising in surrender "But even the military wouldn't try something as ludicrous as this."

"Well duh," Luffy suddenly cracked one of his trademark grins "but we're not military, we're pirates."

Ballin gave a heavy sigh "I'm not sure you understand what I'm saying."

Luffy pouted crossing his arms with a huff "I understand you think we're weak, you're the one that doesn't understand that my crew is stronger than military or any marine out there."

"Are you even listening to me?! You can't-!"

"Leave him be," Zoro's voice cut through Ballin's further retort "once Luffy sets his mind on something, he won't let it go, no matter what."

The captain cast incredulous eyes on his prince and finally gave a resigned sigh "If you say so, my lord."

Zoro felt his lip twist in a sneer and he sat up and clambered to his feet so to glare at the man "Don't call me that," he growled "I may have just gotten my memories back, but that doesn't mean I've accepted that I'm the Crown Prince, and I'm certainly not ok with being treated like one."

"Exactly, no cause for grand airs here," Sanji grunted as he took a draw from his cigarette.

Suddenly Zoro paused and turned around slowly until he was facing the cook "That is," he smirked "unless it applies to you, in that case…"

The swordsman pointed his finger at the blond and gave the man in question a cocky lopsided smile "I'm royalty, bow to me."

Sanji burst into flames, his eye narrow with fury "WHY YOU LITTLE-!"

Zoro barely had time to unsheathe his sword before a black leather shoe came flying at his face, and the swordsman blocked it with a smile "What Sanji," he snickered "jealous? Maybe I should hire you as my valet; you've always been good at groveling like a dog."

Sanji let out a scream of fury "Only for the ladies! Not for a piece of pond scum like you!"

"HA!" Zoro barked out a laugh "We can't trust you around princesses; you might get a nosebleed and soil their pretty skirts!"

A shriek echoed among the rafters as the blond swung a molten hot leg at his rival, and Zoro ducked and dodged, bringing his sword down in devastating blows, his laughter joining the sounds of battle.

"A-Are they always like this?" the captain asked quietly.

Nami smiled softly before giving a careless shrug "Pretty much, they bicker like this at least once a day, if not every hour."

Ballin sat in stunned silence before he began to snicker, then to chuckle, until gut busting guffaws shook his broad shoulders making all activity in the room to come to an abrupt stop "Reminds me of my younger days," he laughed loudly "when the King was still a prince and I nothing more than a lieutenant, we fought like that as well!"

Slapping his thighs as he stood, the old Captain gave a mischievous grin to Luffy "Seeing your crew has made me want to cause trouble again, if you'll have me, I would like to lend you my sword."

Luffy sent the man a smile so large it took up half his face "Sure!"

"Then we attack head on," Ballin smiled with a firm nod "We march through the gates, and give Grugen and the Celestial Dragons the shock of their lives when we walk through the doors into the throne room."

"Hear hear!" Nanny crowed before suddenly a sly smile spread across her face "But before we do, there is something that we must take care of first, if we are to do this right."

Ballin's face was blank before understanding caused it to brighten with understanding, and he nodded eagerly "I have just the thing, and I've been saving it for a while."

…..

"Fierro Lionhart,"

The green haired man looked up at the voice his eyes narrow and a cocky smirk quirked his lips "Well if it isn't Count Grugen, how's life?"

Grugen sneered "Better than yours, that's for certain, but you seem to forget that I'm King now."

"King?" Fierro blinked innocently "I see no King, besides even if you were the ruler of this land, where is your crown?"

The evil Count let out a snarl "I would have it if you told me where it was you hid it, you filth!"

"It wouldn't do you any good to have it," Fierro shrugged "for the same reason why you cannot legally torture information out of me, that being you aren't even recognized as a legitimate ruler by the Celestial Dragons."

"I will be though," Grugen spat "this is to be your last trial, overseen by the World Nobles, and when the Celestial Dragons declare you unfit to rule, you will be executed and I will formally crowned King and acknowledged as the sole ruler of this Kingdom."

"But until that time," suddenly Fierro drew himself up from where he had been hanging, the chains clinking as he moved, and pinned the man who had betrayed him with a venomous glare "I am still the legal and rightful King of this land, and you, merely the court snake who got too big for his skin."

A sharp slap echoed throughout the chamber, Grugen panting hard as his hand hung from where it had swung "Not for long," he hissed "even if you are still the rightful ruler, you have no heir and the law clearly states that a princess cannot inherit the throne. Your line is dead, I ordered his execution myself, and you are of an age where another heir is unlikely to be borne of the Queen. I could not easily imagine the Celestial Dragons giving the throne to a King unable to assure his Kingdom the security of a future. Defeat is your only option, there is no hope of victory, and it is time you accept that."

"Never," Fierro spat his glittering emerald eyes swimming with poison as he slowly turned his head back towards Grugen "there is hope, just as you know there to be. I see fear in your eyes, an anxiety twisting in your gut like an electric eel, you know that there is hope and a chance of your defeat."

Grugen's gaze widened and he stumbled back a few steps, his chest heaving as he labored for air "What do you know?" he gasped.

Fierro shrugged "Nothing,"

The Count leapt forward, grabbing the man by the front of his tattered shirt "WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" he bellowed giving a healthy shake.

"Nothing more than you," the King grinned happily "in case you have forgotten, I've been imprisoned for the past fourteen years. How can _I_ know anything?"

"Be silent, you dog!" Grugen snarled giving another shake.

"Well do you want me to talk, or be silent?" Fierro laughed "Indecision isn't a very attractive quality for a king you know,"

With a muttered curse the Count struck Fierro once more, this time with his fist "You will not be so smug in just two hours time," he hissed.

The king spat a glob of blood onto the floor before straightening up again "We shall see,"

"That we shall," Grugen sneered at his enemy "all the way up to your death on the executioner's block."

"Perhaps mine," Fierro murmured as Grugen swirled around and began to stride out of the cell "or perhaps yours."

The Count paused, the words so soft but carrying a diamond sharp threat that cut into his very soul, and it took everything within the man not to shudder in fear "As you said," Grugen whispered in return "we shall see,"

…..

Up in her chambers, Fiona bedecked in a gleaming white satin dress, clasped a golden necklace with a flawless emerald to hang around her throat. Her heart hammered in her chest as she considered the lack of response from Ballin or Nanny, and a shudder of fear caused her shoulders to tremble even as her mother ran a comb through flowing green hair and began to pin it up into an elaborate crown of curls.

"I wish you did not have to do this," Angeline murmured quietly, tears welling up in her brown eyes.

"I share that wish," Fiona whispered her throat jerking with the sobs that so badly wished to be released from her breast "but it is my duty, maybe as his wife I may yet protect this Kingdom from Grugen's tyranny."

"Your father has hope of a champion who will save us," the Queen said in a hushed croak.

"Then he is a fool," the princess shot back, her beautiful jaw suddenly growing hard as she grit her teeth.

Suddenly the Queen spun her daughter around and gripped her by the shoulders, chocolate brown eyes flaming with an intense fury "Never," she hissed "NEVER say such things about your father! He is the one who has spent the past fourteen years in a prison while we have enjoyed the comforts of our home. He is the one who has made sacrifices that have never been asked of us, and I choose to believe in him!"

"But what is the purpose of false hope in a champion who died fourteen years ago!" Fiona shot back, surging out of her chair and whirling on her mother.

"I do not think your brother dead, Fiona," Angeline said quietly her gaze steady and confident "in fact my heart tells me otherwise, I believe he is alive."

"How?" the princess begged in a choked sob "HOW?!"

Angeline gave a soft smile to her daughter before shrugging gently "Call it mother's intuition, the same feeling that tells me you will not have to go through this accursed marriage."

Fiona fell forward as her mother drew her into her warm embrace, and tears fell from green eyes onto the shoulder of the Queen "Oh momma," the princess wept as she clung to her mother "I pray you are right,"

'_So do I…'_ Angeline thought _'…So do I…'_

**So what do you think?**

**It is getting close to the battle!**

**Next chapter things get good!**

**REVIEW!**


	11. Making the First Move

**Man, moving to Europe is no joke, but I'm doing ok. Just have to find the time to write, which is even MORE difficult. **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

"All rise for the honorable World Nobles, and caretakers of our fair Kingdom, the Celestial Dragons,"

The court of nobles rose, the ladies giving a deep curtsy, and the men bowing at the waist as three Celestial Dragons, two men and one woman, filed into the room, their white suits and bubble helmets glaring against the bright sunlight filtering into the throne room that was serving as a courtroom for the moment. Sneers of disdain decorated their faces as they found their seats, and the woman heaved an impatient sigh.

"How long will this take, Trenton?"

The man in question turned to the red head and groaned "Be patient Margarite, we all know that this man has no chance of us granting an appeal for him to be on the throne again. He has no son to inherit the throne and without a male heir to ensure the security of the Kingship, regardless of how many people vouch for his innocence as a trustworthy ruler he will not win this trial, so this will not take long at all."

"You'd better be right Trenton," the other man spat "because I don't want to spend any more time in this lesser kingdom than I have to,"

"Oh be silent Rambool," Margarite huffed "you're such a boor, at the very least we were able to get out of the dull proceedings of the monthly meeting between houses, that particular get together always bores me to tears."

"At least we're among our own kind," Rambool growled "the stench off these commoners gives me headaches."

The woman scoffed, her mouth twisting into a cruel smirk "Considering your propensity for these headaches, maybe it's your own stench that makes things so difficult for you?"

Rambool opened his mouth to shoot back a retort, but was stopped by the voice of the court announcer "Now presenting the accused, former King and ruler of this land, Fierro Lionhart the Ninth."

A small wooden door on the side of the throne room opened to reveal a large guard ascending from the dungeon, a man wrapped in chains following close behind.

Angeline gasped when she saw her husband, and a soft smile lit her face as she saw that he had managed to convince his guards to allow him to clean up. The beard was gone, his face was now clean of any hair, and the flowing green hair had been pulled into a freshly washed ponytail. His tattered clothes were now replaced by a white shirt and black slacks, and even though shackles adorned his wrists, his eyes glittered with an intense confident intelligence.

"He's still a King," Angeline murmured her eyes misting over as she gazed on her lover "even in chains, he looks more like a King than Grugen could hope to ever be."

Fiona glanced down at the floor demurely, hiding her smile behind an elaborate fan, deigning to give her mother her mute agreement as she saw Grugen take his place on the throne, his face decorated by a sneer of contempt for the stately elegance held by his prisoner that he so obviously lacked.

"Well," Grugen snarled "now that all are present and accounted for, why don't we begin this trial and get it over with."

"I couldn't agree more," Trenton intoned looking at his fellow celestial dragons "let us begin by going over the charges."

The court announcer heaved a sigh, as he cast a nostalgic look of longing over to his former king, remembering days gone by when he wasn't forced to take part in sham trials and general insanity "The charges are as follows," he said in a miserable monotone.

But just as the man opened his mouth to speak, a loud cheer exploded outside in the plaza, and all in the room were distracted from their original purpose as looks of bewildered confusion were exchanged.

"What is it, what is going on?!" Rambool snarled.

Grugen stood, his face hard with fury, even as the edges of his tough façade cracked with fear "What going on here?!"

"I'm not sure your lordship," one of the many soldiers stammered "it appears there's a disturbance out in the city."

"Where is Ballin?!" Grugen shrieked "Why isn't he here taking care of security?!"

"Be-Because sire," the soldier spluttered, his features pale as he gave the dreaded news to the man who could order his execution "Ballin is…leading it…"

"WHAT?!"

….

The crowd cheered, and Nami shook her head in wonder as she glanced around at a sight she would never have imagined, even after one of the Straw Hat's signature parties.

She and the other Straw Hats were currently marching in a parade on horseback. The ladies of the crew had been decked out in silk dresses, and jewels, while the men were adorned in crisp formal outfits that looked vaguely like the costume that royalty would wear, each with a flowing cape rippling down one arm leaving the other free to view.

Sanji looked especially dashing, dressed in a sleek black suit, with a white cape. His hair had been carefully combed, and even had a dash of perfumed oil to make it shine in the sun with golden brilliance, making Nami smile as she watched the various women swoon over the noble manner in which he rode his horse.

But as Nami cast her eyes up to the front of their little parade, her mind went back to when they were about to leave the basement room, and she had received the shock of her life second only to when they initially found out that Zoro was a prince, and the reason why Sanji and Luffy rode with an uncommon seriousness.

"_Then we attack head on," Ballin smiled with a firm nod "We march through the gates, and give Grugen and the Celestial Dragons the shock of their lives when we walk through the doors into the throne room."_

"_Hear hear!" Nanny crowed before suddenly a sly smile spread across her face "But before we do, there is something that we must take care of first, if we are to do this right."_

_In a blink the woman had dragged Zoro away, and shoved him into a separate room that was obscured by a thick curtain. The crew waited on pins and needles, wondering what the old nanny was doing, and a good half hour had passed before the curtain was finally moved aside to reveal their swordsman, but the man had undergone a shocking change._

_The crew gaped in disbelief as the scruffy punk that had been their crewmate was neatly replaced by an elegant figure clothed in a pure white suit with silver buttons running down in parallel lines down his breast. An emerald silk sash ran from his right shoulder down to his left hip, while a silver belt adorned his slim hips bearing the weight of his three swords, and a flowing forest green cape covered one shoulder and swept behind him in a beautiful rippling wave. On his head, completing the wardrobe of a prince, rested a crown of beaten silver and gold, woven together in separate cords and wires, making a thick braid of metal that had a large emerald set in the middle of the area that covered Zoro's forehead._

"_Nanny," Ballin breathed, "where did you get all this?"_

_Nanny smirked "The King, he knew that Grugen was up to something, and over a period of time as insurance just in case it turned out for the worst I assisted the King in hiding the crowns and formal clothes of both the King and the Crown Prince. I'm glad we did it too, because young Fier- I mean Zoro, fits his father's clothes perfectly, and the crown he was to inherit when he turned eighteen fits like a glove."_

_Zoro looked down at the ground, his face growing red as he shifted uncomfortably with the amount of attention he was getting "I tried to tell her my old clothes were fine, but she refused to listen," he grumbled._

"_And it's a good thing she did, too," Ballin smirked as the young man who could glare the strongest of men into submission fidgeted like a small child "because when we go to rescue your father, we need to make a statement, and what better statement than to have the Crown Prince march into the throne room?"_

_Zoro pouted, his keen genius when it came to battle strategy confirming what Ballin had said, and merely nodded._

"_There remains only one thing left to do then," Nanny smiled softly "before we rescue the King and our Kingdom."_

"_You sly fox," Ballin chuckled "already have everything planned out do you? Alright then, what more must we do before we leave?" _

"_You said so yourself," Nanny nodded "we must make a statement, and we will do so by marching down the main street on horseback, much in the way our King would come home after a long journey. We must acquire horses, show the people that their prince has returned."_

_Ballin nodded before smirking "If that is what we are doing, then we actually have two things to do."_

_Nanny's face went blank before understanding brightened it "Of course! Can't have ourselves a parade without that."_

"_Without what?" Luffy asked._

"_Zoro," Ballin said softly, turning to the young man "but in the parade as we march through the city, you will be leading the way, but behind you will be the two people you trust most. We will be behind you every step of the way, but tradition states that every King or Crown Prince must have two people who are his most loyal friends. One is the armor bearer, he who carries the sword which symbolizes the strength and the dreams of the King. The other man will carry the King's banner, a symbol that even if the King were to fall injured in battle, that he would have the support of those loyal to him helping him on his feet once again, and continuing in the battle."_

_Zoro paused, his teeth capturing his bottom lip as he contemplated his options, before giving a decisive nod. Nanny saw his eyes darken as he remembered that everyone was watching him, and she immediately clapped her hands calling loudly._

"_I have plenty of clothes, let's get everyone dressed up and snazzy for the parade!"_

_The crew disbursed, and Zoro approached his captain murmuring softly as he spoke "Luffy,"_

_The young man turned around and looked hard at his swordsman, his face serious "What is it Zoro?"_

_The moss headed man sighed, unused to speaking his emotions out loud, before inclining his head and lowering his voice even further as he struggled to say what he had come over there to say "I want you to be the armor bearer," he stammered with red faced discomfort "I mean we've been in this together from the beginning, and the best person that I can think of that I trust with my dream is…my captain."_

_Luffy gave the man a large grin before nodding and walking away, leaving the swordsman to choose one last person, and to be honest Zoro was not looking forward to asking. Finally with a heaved sigh, Zoro approached Sanji, and hooked one finger around his collar, dragging him into a corner just as the room was filled with Nami's shrieks over the beauty of some dress, covering up the cook's yelp of surprise._

"_Jeez marimo, what's your problem?!" Sanji growled._

_Zoro his mouth to spit back a retort, before giving a soft groan "I just wanted to talk,"_

"_Well then talk to me out there like a normal person," the blond sniffed "don't go dragging me into a corner like some creepy weirdo."_

_Zoro pinned the man who was easily one of his closest friends with a venomous glare "Sanji," he whispered through gritted teeth "this is hard enough without you making it nearly impossible."_

_The cook calmed, feeling the gravity of the situation weighing on his shoulders as he remembered Ballin's words, and nodded his head "Alright then, what was it you wanted to say?"_

"_I want you to carry the banner,"_

_Pride, and warm pleasure burst inside the cook's chest, but he quickly smothered it with his usual dose of sarcasm "And why would I want to do that?"_

_Zoro heaved a sigh that was laced with a snarl before crossing his arms with a huff "Look nosebleed, we may not always get along, but I know I can trust you to back me up in a fight. We both follow Luffy to fulfill our dreams, so he's carrying my sword, but when it comes to who's got my back…"_

_Suddenly the swordsman floundered as he struggled to find the right words without sounding even more cheesy than he already did, and just settled with an aggravated growl accompanied by his muscular hands scrubbing his face, before once again glaring at his rival "I'm just trying to do the right thing, alright?"_

_And so with a look caught between honored happiness, and teasing amusement the cook shrugged in a way he knew would tick the swordsman off and drawled "Yeah sure, I'll carry your dumb banner."_

So here they were, marching down the main street of the capitol city, Zoro in the lead on a white stallion, his crown reflecting the light of the sun as the crowd clapped and cheered, and streamers and confetti fluttered to the ground from various windows. While Luffy and Sanji followed close behind. The mighty sword hung across the young captain's back, nestled between his shoulder blades, and Sanji carried the banner with pride, never once allowing it to dip down to the ground, keeping the white flag with the emerald lion in full view of the screaming masses gathered to watch their prince's triumphant return back to his palace.

**So yeah, Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I worked crazy hard on it in between the insane schedule I'm currently keeping. I'll try to keep up with chapters, but I apologize in advance for any waits you may have to endure.**


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